Even in Arcadia

They’re not just rinsing and repeating, however – they’ve evolved too much as a band to do that.

Sleep Token are, in theory at least, done rinsing and repeating. Having spent the best part of the last two years rolling out an almost mythical campaign for their upcoming fourth album, Even In Arcadia, in which they’ve teased new sounds, concepts and even food-related oddities, it would be an understatement to say that anticipation is high. Especially considering the groundbreaking nature of 2023’s Take Me Back To Eden, which saw the band pushing the boundaries of their sound and vision to an impressive degree.

Of course, no band can be expected to reinvent the wheel with every release, and Sleep Token aren’t stupid. They know what works, and they’re not afraid to use it again. Throughout Even In Arcadia, there are glimmers of past glories, from the synth-drenched balladry of last year’s singles to the more maximalist and experimental moments that fans have come to expect and adore. But they’re not just rinsing and repeating, however – they’ve evolved too much as a band to do that.

While not as wild a leap as 2023’s groundbreaking Take Me Back To Eden, there’s all sorts of new touches here. On Caramel, Vessel briefly emerges from behind the curtain to viscerally spell out the effect over-intrusive fans have had on him, leaving him ‘Terrified to answer my own front door,’ and feeling like, ‘This stage is a prison.’

Gethsemane, meanwhile, brings their most radically new sounds – Vessel bends his voice into new timbres, and there’s even some funky riff work unlike anything they’ve ever attempted before, almost akin to The Home Team (weird, yet it works). If there’s anywhere they falter, it’s on their simpler songs. It’s not to say they can’t succeed without being maximalist and they have a dossier of past successes to prove that (see: Aqua Regia, Missing Limbs, Fall For Me), but when they strip things back here, like Past Self’s airy synth-and-drum-machine pop it gets a little wobbly.

Fortunately, Even in Arcadia’s minor quibbles are easily dwarfed by the height of its peaks. It isn’t quite an album of all-timers, but it’s more than enough to bring in wave after wave of gleaming gold spoils over again. Crucially, of course, it’s something only they could have made – and that is always a strength.

News data source: kdj.com

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