I think it’s high time to stir the pot, switch some gears and give you all something WEIRD to listen to. Actually, this one isn’t even as much weird as it is oddly thematically vintage in composition. I’ve been looking for new music over the last few weeks and was thrilled to chance upon a group called Sleep Thieves. Lately I’ve had the sleeping schedule of a crime-fighting vampire, and there’s been nothing better than this group when I’m half awake and half asleep for a truly phantasmagorical late-night listening experience. Its electronic pop with a haunting, unsettling, surrealist twist. Near as I can figure this group isn't all that popular worldwide as information isn't easy to come across on them, despite having pockets of loyal and regular listeners internationally. From what little I could surmise online; they hail from Ireland and have put out a relative handful of albums over about a decade (less than five). But beyond anything pedestrian, this trio takes just about the darkest and most unnerving, yet refreshingly cinematic approach to making music I've heard in years. There aren’t too many bands out there that I’ll latch on to immediately, but I’ve always been into moody electronic music going back 25 years or more, my friends. I KNOW decent synth when I listen to it, I was raised by the likes of Trent Reznor and NIN after all in the late 90’s. This sound positively breeds bad dreams and is not dissimilar to NIN’s own disco-industrial sound. It’s the most brooding, dangerous, and at times daydreaming and danceable music I’ve found in years. This is Is This Ready? from their 2018 album Fortress. It’s vocally interesting, its instrumental arrangement is stripped-down but effective, and you’d be hard pressed to find any other act out there that creates tunes that sound anything like this. Smash play and enjoy something weird, dear listener. And by weird, I just mean take a chance and try on something different.
