Memphis May Fire - Sleepwalking
Rating
RIYL
Chasing VictoryA Static Lullaby
The Hottness
Release Date
07/21/2009
Label
TrustkillTracklist
1. North Atlantic VS North Carolina2. A Giant In a Giants World
3. Your Lucky Its Not 1692
4. Ghost In The Mirror
5. Been There, Done That
6. Quantity Is Their Quality
7. Sleepwalking
8. Destiny For The Willing
9. The Face With No Name
10. Speak Now I'm Listening
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At first glance, Memphis May Fire is your typical post-hardcore band, made up of five skinny guys making questionable fashion choices and promising heavier music than Meshuggah. They certainly don't look like they're from Texas. They aren't even tan. They swing back and forth from delay-infused melodies and singing to distorted riffs and yelling, much like a hormonal teenager. Teenage girls love them, metalheads hate them, and that's what got them signed to Trustkill Records.
The album opens quickly with an obvious emphasis on new singer Matt Mullins, a knack for Maylene and the Sons of Disaster throwaway guitar licks, and a “we're here” message. The band's previous release, a self-titled EP, is immediately forgotten. While their style hasn't changed extremely, they have certainly begun with a clean slate. The more mature sound the band has taken up shines throughout the album, and the lyrics are noticeably different. Instead of stories being told, the focus is on character and the world's current standing. Album opener “North Atlantic vs. North Carolina” serves as the basis for the entire album, hitting every extreme that the album will touch on, vocal, guitar, and structure wise. The band is obviously built on slick guitar riffs and catchy vocal hooks, and no song on the album is without them. While the band touts their Southern side as a selling point, much of what they attempt comes off as cheesy and forced. Bending notes doesn't always add a Southern twang and can really ruin a song. In between the first song and the fourth, there are a couple of songs which don't stand out, as is the case for a few more on the album. Track four, however, is the strongest effort on the album. “Ghost in the Mirror” starts out with a neat flanged intro and ventures back and forth between upbeat and downbeat portions. The song is very well written all the way through and very nicely arranged. The effect-drenched intro and outro also add a lush quality to the production, which is refreshing in more than one way.
“Been There, Done That” is perhaps the heaviest song on the record, as well as one of the catchiest. A good riff plus bass and drum fills help push the song along, making it a stand-out. After a few more filler songs, we get treated to the album's title track. “Sleepwalking” is based on a quirky chord progression and features an ending that is heavy on the singing, as well as its message, which is being critical of passiveness. The melodic ending begins the lead-up the album's climax, in which melody is much more central than during the first half. “The Face With No Name” takes on personal mistakes and the attempt to undo them - unsuccessfully, of course. The song features nice lead guitar work that actually fits the song, rather than just being in the same key and sounding “Southern”. The album's closer, “Speak Now I'm Listening”, is a hopeful song, also featuring nice lead guitar work and a catchy, fitting chord progression. The song's ending is nicely done, breaking down to an open and dreamy musical landscape that echoes the open ending of the album's message.
Memphis May Fire's album is very promising for a band of this age, and especially surprising considering the lifeless quality of their genre of music. They still fit a good number of stereotypes and clichés, but their music and message consist of a good amount of substance. Sleepwalking is a solid effort which begins picking up steam in the second half, both lyrically and musically. Lyrics begin to get more broad and serious and songwriting begins to mesh together to form logical progressions and appealing writing. In this type of music, Memphis May Fire puts a smile on my face. True, it's not the most original music I've ever heard and there are better bands out there, but the band portrays a group of honest people making music that they and others enjoy. Sleepwalking is a good full length debut, balancing itself out between good music, and a promising future for Memphis May Fire.
--Cody Rogers
Comments
Claremont, CA
please tell me track 3 starts with you're and not your...
Minnesota
Not according to Smartpunk's tracklist...
Lehigh Valley, PA
That is a very big pet peeve of mine. I can't stand that, it's basic shit we ALL learn in grade school. How did the label not catch this? Its should be It's as well.
New
Mouthin' Off!
Old and barely kicking
Judi Rose
Newly joined and not on the recordings yet
Rosary Ligature
Hillsborough, NC
Yep, this is how it was listed on every tracklisting I saw. I definitely noticed it, too.
Green Brook, NJ
trustkill is dumb? that's probably why.
Minnesota
Eh, this is listenable, but only as background music.