After their departure from longtime label Solid State Records, Oh, Sleeper became independent, deciding to go the crowd-funding route instead of finding another label. With the help of IndieGoGo, the band easily met its goal of $30,000 and then some. Earlier this month, the Fort Worth natives released The Titan EP, which features 5 brand new tracks.
The EP opens with “Naofumi Mitsuhashi”, a crushing song with electronic elements, mysterious siren sounds in the background, and of course the blistering guitar riffs the band has become known for. “Naofumi Mitsuhashi” is not the strongest track on the new EP, but it definitely holds its own, and kicks right into the lead single, “The Pitch”, a cut that seems to blend technicality with melody quite well. Corey Sabol, known for his previous work with Periphery, adds another dynamic to the song when he comes in during the bridge, not only with his high cleans, but also with the screams he can pull off. Up next is “Death from Above”, with the signature Oh, Sleeper sound that fans have grown to love, specifically on the band’s last full-length, 2011’s Children of Fire. “Heavy Hands” is a slower song with singing and an acoustic guitar taking the forefront. Later on there are some great screams in the background that enhance the song’s already solid overall flow. The final track from the EP, “The Rise”, is a top-notch tune that again harkens to Children of Fire. It heats up a bit around 3 minutes in when the dueling vocals take over and the guitars go insane one last time, before Micah finishes the song off and it fades away with a triumphant drum stomp.
Although neither groundbreaking nor unexpected, Oh, Sleeper once again delivers an overall solid effort from start to finish. Many of these songs sound like they are b-sides straight from the Children of Fire sessions. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I was hoping for a bit more diversity on this EP. Despite its lack of diversity, I enjoyed all five tracks, and I’m looking forward to this next EP that they will be releasing here sometime in the near future.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQ41t7zkPbg&h=297&w=450]
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