Sounds You Need In Your Ears: Sleep On It

Sounds You Need In Your Ears
Episode 10: Sleep On It

Lineup:

Zech Pluister // vocals
TJ Horansky // guitar/vocals
Jake Marquis // guitar/vocals
Luka Fischman // drums

Online:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Official Merch
Twitch

It’s been a long time since we’ve done one of these features, so I am pretty stoked for you to get to know about this band more and if you follow me on Twitter, you may have seen my constant posts about this band. As an avid pop punk fan, I tend to froth for my faves more than the average pop punk kid. The latest band to fall into my forever on repeat playlist is US pop punk four-piece Sleep On It.

I first came across these guys towards the end of 2018 with their single ‘Disconnected’, which caught my attention due to its infectious chorus and I couldn’t get enough. Their hit track ‘Fireworks’ then piqued my interest and I don’t know why I didn’t come across this sooner, being a huge State Champs fan as this song features frontman Derek DiScanio. Fast forward eight months or so to September 2019 and the band have dropped their new album, Pride & Disaster. From first play, this record is a flawless record for the pop punk history books (Suss my 10/10 review here)

Hailing from Chicago USA, Sleep On It are among the plethora of musical talent exploding out of the US midwest – Chicago also being home to bands like Fall Out Boy and fellow upcomers Belmont. They capture the nostalgia from the early 2000’s, combined with the energy that’s being emulated by many of today’s pop punk scene into a sound that’s distinctively their own. Songs like ‘Hold Your Breath’ immediately show off the band’s melodic and explosive punk moments as well as their own nod to such an iconic era. This song in particular throws off big Yellowcard vibes that I feel like would go absolutely nuts at a show (Australia tour whenever the world reopens please!). It might be a bit soon to call, but Sleep On It are heading on the right path to fill the void that Yellowcard left behind in 2016.

While it was Pride and Disaster that solidified my love towards Sleep On It, this isn’t their debut record. The band also have an EP, Lost Along the Way followed by their first full-length album, Overexposed. While Overexposed didn’t quite captivate me as much as their more recent release did, there are still a few highlights worth mentioning. ‘Window’ and ‘Distant’ really honed in on the band’s ability to pen together heartfelt, emotional songwriting with infectious pop/rock riffs, which just goes to show they stepped it up even more musically on Pride and Disaster. Frontman Zech Pluister has a pretty strong, distinctive voice too which definitely helps in setting Sleep On It apart.

I absolutely recommend adding these guys to your pop punk playlist if you straight up love the genre, but even more if you miss classics like Fall Out Boy (the early days) and Yellowcard. The band’s emotional, yet relatable lyrics will also get you through a shitty day. I’ve lost count with how many times ‘Under the Moment’ has gotten me through bad days. I said this last year, and I’m still sticking by it – Sleep On It will definitely be a band to carry the pop punk genre these next few years.

What’s the band up to now, you ask? Well, COVID-19 really fucked with the band’s plans to dominate this year. When the world shut down in March, it forced Sleep On It to halt their first ever headline tour across the US and head back home to Chicago. Which also meant that their plans to head over to the UK for Slam Dunk Festival were stopped short, as well as any other countries they may have had planned (*ahem* Australia). These days, Sleep On It are keeping fans engaged with livestreams on Facebook and Instagram. Oh yeah, they’re even doing live cooking classes and even break down their own favourite albums on their Twitch channel!

I’ll leave you with the band’s latest single ‘Falling Further Faster’ and if you loved that and any of their other songs featured here, listen to Pride and Disaster to your heart’s content, and then you should totally swing by their merch site and grab some swag. It’s the best we can do to support bands while live shows are nonexistent…

Written by Tamara May (@citylightstam)