Sleeping with Sirens’ sophomore album comes out tomorrow, and Alex and I managed to get our dirty little paws on it, thanks to publicist Mike Cubillos of Earshot Media. Let’s Cheer to This is a bit of a different sound from the Billboard-topping With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear, however, and it may not be a bad thing.

Major cutie Kellin Quinn’s voice, for one, is not as high as it was on the last album. Let’s Cheer to This has a more angsty taste with voice dominating the sound waves more so than music. For loves of the post-hardcore genre, it’s pretty much what you love and revel in. For others, however, it may be a bit too much yelling. The album features less screamo elements than the last, yet they are nevertheless present on nearly every track. Let’s Cheers to This is serious just as With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear was, but this time it sounds more disillusioned, more like growing up.

The album displays emotions of anger and disappointment, most notably with the father-son angst track, “A Trophy Father’s Trophy Son”. Yet a few songs are more upbeat than the others such as the 17-year-old-heartbreak-nostalgia “If You Can’t Hang” and the drum-driven youth anthem “Do It Now Remember It Later”. These faster, more positive tracks, along with the acoustic love song “All My Heart”, pepper an otherwise cynical and angst-ridden album. The lyrics show depth and personally intrigue me, and I can definitely see people loving them because they relate. The music itself shows just how the band has improved and expanded its abilities. Sleeping with Sirens is a young band which much promise and has proved that it can change, grow and develop. They have some ways to go in terms of being among the biggest, but their following, growth as artists and a band, and their talent shows they have the potential to get there.
Songs to Listen to: “Postcards and Polaroids”, “Your Nickel Ain’t Worth My Dime”, “All My Heart”, “Do It Now Remember It Later”


-Syjil Ashraf