SLEEP TOKEN double down on the left turns of Take Me Back To Eden on Even In Arcadia

How do you follow up an album that propelled you from 2000 capacity rooms to arenas? For SLEEP TOKEN, their response to the gargantuan explosion in popularity they experienced from third album Take Me Back To Eden is to keep pushing their own boundaries. The former was experimental, incorporating elements of R&B, trap and more. Fourth album Even In Arcadia has already had much made of it, from their signing to major label RCA Records to dissecting the lyrics of its singles, particularly Caramel, which called out the obnoxious behaviour of obsessive fans in a rare direct-to-camera confrontation.

Whether it lives up to lofty expectations though, is another matter entirely, and if we’re honest, probably irrelevant. SLEEP TOKEN at this juncture are so huge, so beloved and their fanbase is suffused with many who will herald anything they release as nothing less than a rival to the Sistine Chapel. SLEEP TOKEN must know this, too, because Even In Arcadia is incredibly self-indulgent almost to the point of obnoxiousness, doubling down on the left turns of TMBTE and expanding ever further. The end result is good more often than it isn’t, but still a mixed bag.

Opener Look To Windward builds on the repeating vocal motif “will you halt this eclipse in me” until right before it becomes tired, then drop an excoriating scream and heavy guitars, but the song is already half-done at this point. Even then, it still finds time for a trap section with the rap that they start experimenting with on Eden. Lead single Emergence slots in neatly after, its sax section courtesy of BILMURI’s Gabi Rose still a jazzy highlight. Unfortunately it’s right after this that SLEEP TOKEN stumbles for the first time, with the odd Past Self.

It once more locks into a trap beat with Vessel rapping and he’s still not brilliant at it. There’s also not much development to the song; it stays locked into that same groove for its full runtime rather than their usual trick of merging disparate sounds together. Dangerous is more typical fare that fans might be accustomed to post-Eden, Vessel crooning “won’t you show me how to dance forever?” over its thundering guitar. A recurring theme of Even In Arcadia is that SLEEP TOKEN seem content to put experimentation ahead of quality. There’s more good than bad, but the lows are certainly lower than previous efforts.

Fortunately, Caramel and the title track are excellent examples of their current sound, with Caramel’s dissection of boundary-overstepping fans and a syncopated flow, while the title track is a heartfelt piano ballad reminiscent of a newer take on Blood Sport. Provider is pure Usher in its opening minutes until a stunning synth line snakes its way through crunching guitars, while Damocles is, as it proved a single, a show-stopper of a track examining the complicated relationship they have with fame and wondering what happens if it all fades away.

The problem here is that Damocles might be a show-stopper, but Even In Arcadia actually continues for two more songs. Gethsemane flirts with math rock before abandoning it for yet more trap – immensely frustrating because that ORCHARDS-esque lick would’ve been great to hear more of. Closer Infinite Baths is crushing in its second half, but again frustrates by closing on an extended fade out. When you can write an ending as thoroughly arresting and emotional as Euclid that brings three albums full circle, Infinite’s fade feels lazy and like a half baked ending.

Ultimately, that’s the big problem with Even In Arcadia. For all its highs like Damocles and Caramel, there’s frustrating choices, and a lack of clear purpose or direction to some songs. Again though, none of the last several hundred words likely matter to their devoted fanbase who will lap this up like the second coming. Even In Arcadia certainly won’t convince their detractors or those who casually enjoy them to become more devoted, but it’s doubtlessly going to keep their ascent going through sheer fervour if not quality.

Rating: 7/10

Even In Arcadia is out now via RCA Records.

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