Sometimes you just need a little pick-me-up from the stresses of daily life from someone who gets it. Thatâs what the new Sleeping With Sirens album is; a friend when youâre in need of a helping hand. The arc that theyâve followed over the last two records is completed with âAn End In Itselfâ and while the twelve songs are imbued with the same energy that catapulted them into the mainstream a decade and a half ago, itâs more than that; âAn End In Itselfâ is rooted in solidarity and understanding of the struggles of the everyday and contains the power to inspire you to push on through.Â
âDonât give up, donât let it bury you,â implores Kellin Quinn as the gritty title track opens the album, twisting from empty chords into screaming, flammable choruses ripe with optimism amid the chaos. The cry for comfort extends into âForever/Alwaysâ, a surprisingly tender track from Sirens but one which beams with a love for the human connection. If anything, thatâs what âAn End In Itselfâ is all about: the joy of finding solidarity in the people around you. âGod In My Headâ feels like a rush of realisation that you can always rely on yourself, albeit with atmospheric layered drop-downs to add a touch of spookiness, and âNeed You Hereâ feels destined to become a metalledâs wedding song this summer with its gorgeous blend of solos and romantic chemistry. However, itâs âLeft On Repeatâ which brings the most vulnerable moment on the album, one that reaches out to us and invites us to share the connection which Sleeping With Sirens celebrate.
Thereâs been a magnetic shift in Sleeping With Sirensâ sound since 2022âs âComplete Collapseâ; the heaviness on tracks like âParalyzedâ feels so much more dense than we remember, and the pop opening to âHouse of Matchesâ feels like something that could be from a chart-topping crooner. The moments where the band manage to compress those two sides into one, such as the atmospheric singalong future classic âWaiting For Youâ, are the points where âAn End In Itselfâ truly shines.
âPTSDâ, probably the heaviest track weâre dealing with, is gorgeously venting, but immediately followed with the moody, slow crashing of âLooking Back At Meâ. Both sides that we experience are brilliant, of course, but both offer different paths to the future for Sleeping With Sirens. Is this a clue that weâre sliding towards an emotional pop sound, or that theyâll throw all caution to the wind and pack their next record with deep and intensive chug? At this point, all speculation is irrelevant as weâre barely letting âAn End In Itselfâ sink in, but with the sound we love splitting into intriguing shards, anything could be possible.Â
âAn End In Itselfâ represents that rare beast of a record that will delight the fanbase and pull in new fans thanks to the universal comfort that slamming it out with a bunch of strangers can bring. Thereâs enough heaviness lurking in there to keep us satisfied, but the lightness makes it accessible for the newcomers. It might just be the album that propels them even further into the stratosphere, or it might be a crossroads to a new era now their three-album saga has reached its conclusion. Weâre left with more questions, but we have to trust the process. After all, if Sleeping With Sirens keep making albums of this quality, the answers will reveal themselves in no time.
KATE ALLVEY
