We Were Promised Jetpacks – The More I Sleep the Less I Dream

We Were Promised Jetpacks' guitarist Michael Palmer recently said of their new album that the band were "going back to our basics and relying on our instincts" when it came to writing/recording new music, and you can really hear that throughout The More I Sleep the Less I Dream.

With this being the first album the band have recorded in the US, changes in both label and band members (reverting back to a four-piece), and the overall walk of life over a hefty four-year span that saw all band members enter their thirties, the want for a reinvented approach is both evident and understandable. As such, The More I Sleep the Less I Dream serves as a substantial marker in the band’s catalogue, aiming for a sound that pushes to progress (much like 2014's Unravelling did), without alienating their roots, nor the unrefined – but contained – angst that we’ve come to love.

The More I Sleep… follows on nicely from their earlier releases, channelling them in a consciously reflective manner, and harnessing their typical dissonance while also not feeling as frantic in places as its predecessors. Mind you, tracks like Make It Easier and lead single Hanging In are as energetic in places as some of the best in Jetpacks' back catalogue, with animated build-ups and carefully constructed structures that flow sonically and sumptuously.

As ever, the musicianship of Palmer's lead guitar and its effects are as clean and glittery as you’d expect them to be, with intricate reverberating melodies ringing airily across trademark groove-lined bass patterns. Concluding on a dramatic, crunching climax of Repeating Patterns (boasting one of the most fun music videos of the year) with its pounding, agitated lead guitar, followed by the slow-burning, sludgy, Queens of the Stone Age-style title track, closes what is a really dynamic release from the 'Burgh boys. Welcome back folks.

Listen To: Repeating Patterns, Hanging In, Make It Easier