Something's Up At While She Sleeps Camp...
UPDATE: It's here! New album, single and fan community initiative has all been announced by While She Sleeps! Catch up here
Sooo later this week we'll be finding out what the future holds for While She Sleeps according to an email message from the band which states that they'll be holding a press conference at the end of the week...
The speculation mill is going nuts at Wall of Sound HQ and we've collected a bunch of information which we think may help fans prepare themselves for what's to come... Now, I usually don't like this kind of tabloid bullshit, but there's a bit of evidence out there pointing to change to bear with me!
1 - Frontman Lawrence 'Loz' Taylor pulls out from 2019 Aussie Tour for personal reasons, is replaced by Griffin Dickinson of SHVPES
This was where the speculation stems from. Remember how Loz was absent from the band's Australian Tour supporting Architects back in 2019? Well, it was never revealed why (not that it's any of our business anyway) but they did push through with SHVPES frontman Griffin Dickinson taking centre stage for the lads so they could play songs from their latest album SO WHAT? and goddamn they put on one hell of a show with Griff fitting in perfectly to the role.
2 - While She Sleeps release 'FAKERS PLAGUE'
Not even a year after releasing their latest album SO WHAT? The guys in WSS dropped a standalone single called 'FAKERS PLAGUE' which wasn't on the album but, to me, served as the last new song to feature their current lineup at the time. I've never in my history of doing this music journo game, see a band release music, then release a new song not associated with that album cycle (before this pandemic we're in now). To me, it felt like that was them getting the last bit of music they all had together with that well known lineup before something big happened down the track...
3 - SHVPES Call It A Day in July 2020
Back in July, after releasing a new song called 'One Man Army' and getting us all keen on the future, SHVPES announced they were calling it a day, just as they started gaining some real traction. The boys stated: "As this band has evolved, we have grown a lot as musicians and as people. And as a result we have found ourselves beginning to move in separate directions..." It was all amicable and they left on good terms, but it was a shock none of us saw coming.
4 - Zero Social Media Activity Since May 2020
This was the big clue for me to give my theory credibility... The band haven't posted on their Facebook page since May and the last thing that was posted by them was their documentary showcasing the band's travels around the world. Take that as you will, but surely that's a final look at the band's ventures up until this year!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOj0xUWVqaw&fbclid=IwAR3gUweYqnU3zMb3OZceN7s3OESJ2gLtANuXMsL9j-ax3krgLbqfl7vOJjc
5 - Their Website Has Changed Names...
Now I could be off here, so correct me if I'm wrong, but if you jump on the band's website right now, there's no store, no bio, news etc NOTHING! However, there is a new name at the top of the page which reads SLEEPS BROTHERS.
This year we've seen a few musical acts change names, more recently US band Slaves announced they were ending the era of their name due to racial connotations and were set to come back with a new title and new music by the end of 2020. Now, I'm not saying that there's anything wrong with the name While She Sleeps, but, this is where the big speculation piece comes into play...
UPDATE: Sleeps Brothers is the name of their clothing line according to WoS Reader Jacob Crawley. Let's drop this name change speculation in that case!
6 - Are While She Sleeps Announcing a Name/Lineup Change?
With all of the information given above, could While She Sleeps be set to announce some changes within the band, including the departure of frontman Loz Taylor, a name change to Sleeps Brothers., and the introduction of new vocalist Griffin Dickinson?
To me, with all the information I've been keeping up with over the past year, and the new information given to us from the band and on their website, it indicates a change is coming. Now I could be completely wrong. They could be revealing something much smaller and nowhere near as detailed as the above, but, it helps to have all the information you can find handy in one location, just in case.
We'll soon see what's happening at the band's press conference (which is happening at 3am AEST on Friday Morning) and no doubt we'll have it up for you as soon as it's announced, right here at Wall of Sound.
Until then, go thrash the band's back catalogue a bit more...
Words by Paul 'Browny' Brown' @brownypaul
