{"id":68900,"date":"2018-08-31T10:02:19","date_gmt":"2018-08-31T09:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=68900"},"modified":"2018-08-31T10:02:19","modified_gmt":"2018-08-31T09:02:19","slug":"review-alien-boy-sleeping-lessons","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-alien-boy-sleeping-lessons\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Alien Boy \u2013 Sleeping Lessons"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alien-Boy-Sleeping-Lessons.jpg\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-68901 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alien-Boy-Sleeping-Lessons-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alien-Boy-Sleeping-Lessons-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alien-Boy-Sleeping-Lessons-100x100.jpg 100w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alien-Boy-Sleeping-Lessons-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/Alien-Boy-Sleeping-Lessons.jpg 350w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a>Synchronicity, or the concept of meaningful coincidences, was first coined by theorist Carl Jung\u00a0in the\u00a01920&#8217;s, yet it seems rather apt when thinking about <strong>Alien Boy<\/strong>\u2019s excellent <em>\u2018Sleeping Lessons\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Superficially, there\u2019s little in common between <strong>Alien Boy<\/strong>\u2019s emo\/shoegaze sound, and the pop-punk bluster of Alkaline Trio, yet as the closing track <em>\u2018Sleeping Lessons\u2019<\/em> transitions into <em>\u2018Goodbye Forever\u2019<\/em> in my iTunes library, it feels like one of Jung\u2019s ascribed \u2018meaningful coincidences\u2019. There\u2019s a similar dark finality \u2013 futility even \u2013 between the work of the Portland indie-rockers and the Chicago titans, mixing melodrama with\u00a0striking lyricism and storytelling candour.<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps it\u2019s the conclusiveness of \u2018<em>Goodbye Forever\u2019<\/em> that makes such a comparison stark, but it ties in nicely with the boldness of <strong>Alien Boy<\/strong>\u2019s <em>\u2018Sleeping Lessons\u2019<\/em>, which has a similar lyrical pull on the likes of <em>\u2018Just Kids\u2019<\/em> (a genuine emotional wringer) and <em>\u2018Depression\u2019<\/em>. That the accompanying press release cites Alkaline Trio as an influence puts things in a perfect, albeit coincidental, package.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"Alien Boy &quot;Sleeping Lessons&quot;\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/videoseries?list=PL7gYUOs7CszDGMfjgzSgNX67ZkIg6-ndG\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Led by vocalist Sonia Weber \u2013 whose vocals add drama and tension throughout \u2013 <strong>Alien Boy<\/strong> owe as much to 80\u2019s goth, shoegaze and new wave indie as they do emo, but even with such classic influences, <em>\u2018Sleeping Lessons\u2019<\/em> never feels redundant or regressive. Instead, it\u2019s oddly triumphant; a characterful victory that lives in the here and now and could only be a product of today\u2019s modern environment.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s head-spinningly gorgeous too, all swirling, whirlpool-like guitars and pleading, dreamy vocals. It\u2019s particularly striking on <em>\u2018Somewhere Without Me<\/em>\u2019, but also on <em>\u2018Only Posers Fall In Love\u2019<\/em> (which recalls Soul Asylum\u2019s overlooked 80\u2019s post-punk anthem<em> \u2018Broken Glass\u2019<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a sadness and longing that sits at the heart of \u2018<em>Sleeping Lessons\u2019<\/em>, but it\u2019s also an album propelled forward by pop sensibilities that breakthrough with fervent regularity. The result is an album of steeped layers and immediate hooks, both of which sink soul deep. Coincidence or none, it\u2019s also an album that leaves an indelible mark\u2026<\/p>\n<p>4.5\/5<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2018Sleeping Lessons\u2019<\/em> by <strong>Alien Boy<\/strong> is released on 31st August on\u00a0<strong>Tiny Engines<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Alien Boy<\/strong> links: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/alienboypdx\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a>\u00a0| <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/alienboypdx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Twitter<\/a>\u00a0l\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/alienboypdx.bandcamp.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bandcamp<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Words by Rob Mair <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bobnightmair\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">(@BobNightMair<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>an album of steeped layers and immediate hooks, both of which sink soul deep<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":68901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[5879,15808,15022,11732,206],"class_list":["post-68900","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-album-reviews","tag-album-reviews","tag-alien-boy","tag-rob-mair","tag-sleeping-lessons","tag-tiny-engines"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.7 - 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