Across the past decade or so, sleepmakeswaves have arguably become one of the three best-established representatives of the Australasian post-rock scene. Alongside fellow country folk We Lost The Sea and New Zealand trio Jakob, the Sydney quartet have helped establish and fostered a steadily burgeoning movement in the region in thanks of a string of four enjoyable records ranging from 2011’s …And So We Destroyed Everything to 2020’s These Are Not Your Dreams. Granted, whilst these records where not particularly revolutionary when it came to furthering the genre’s sound, what made these albums just so enjoyable was their enthusiasm and technical prowess.
No, sleepmakeswaves aren’t a band who are ushering in the revolution of post-rock, but what they are doing is nailing the time-tested formula with a great big smile whilst adding their own little prog-minded twists and turns. It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It is more of the same. It’s not going to revolutionise the genre, but once again proves that that the continent’s scene is being represented by some of the best. It’s just a highly enjoyable and all-round brilliant record really.
Opening with the bombastic, triumphant and borderline chest-pumping riffs of ‘All Hail Skull’, this is a body of work that just radiates an air of charismatic confidence that can only come from an entity that not only know their talents, but how to showcase them. Here, within It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It, sleepmakeswaves flex the musical muscles they have spent years honing and training, but not in a way that’s forced or obnoxiously overt. Instead, the record record presents itself as something that’s smart, sophisticated and self-aware.
As the half-time groove of the aforementioned opener plunges into the gleeful zaniness of primary single ‘Super Realm Park’ – something that initially wouldn’t be amiss soundtracking a sci-fi themed rollercoaster at Universal Studios – the band’s approach to the inherent progression takes centre stage and is a joy to behold. In fact, ‘Super Realm Park’ is a brilliant testament to this, with the giddy, almost childlike excitement of the track organically maturing across its five minute run time – it’s wild synthetic flurries and energised guitar riffs evolving into more accomplished and stoic keys that still carry the immediacy of the initial opening of the track.
This sense of accomplishment and confidence presents itself wonderfully across the record. Across the eight tracks that compose It’s Here, But I Have No Name For It, sleepmakeswaves approach and master the different established forms post-rock often manifests as. From the gorgeous, breezy and delicately ornate strings and splendour of ‘Black Paradise’ to the more ethereal and ambient ‘Verdigris’ before back to the extrapolative, proggy and creatively boundless nature of the amazing five minute ‘Terror Future’ (a track that sounds like it wouldn’t be out of place in the first Spyro The Dragon game – a high compliment just to establish) the band jump to-and-fro between different motifs of the genre with boundless energy whilst still remaining technically proficient throughout.
Truthfully, even when sleepmakeswaves slow the tempo and energy to breathe and mediate within the more spacious moments of this record, an air of tactful agility is paramount at all times. The same even goes for the intelligence of the record too; even when their entertaining more big bone-headed riffs in ‘Ritual Control’, the band still sound astute and inventive. All of this comes to head with the towering albeit slightly mournful eight-and-a-half minute title track. By far the most patient song within the tracklist, the song in question stands as the towering centre of the piece of the album, with it’s graceful and meditative instrumentalism ebbing and flowing in a way that’s gorgeous. It’s a brilliant conclusion to the record, a real embodiment of the skill inherent to this band; but it does ultimately overshadow the proceeding true closer ‘This Close Forever’ just a bit.
However, such an issue is nothing in comparison to just how enjoyable this record is. 13 years after their original debut, sleepmakeswaves have coalesced all their cultivated skill and have wonderfully presented it unto this ever-engaging and charismatic record. No, it’s not going to transform post-rock, but it doesn’t intend to; instead this the sound of a band who have more-or-less perfected their take on the genre and know how to make it utterly engaging. Yes, the new record from sleepmakeswaves is here and we have nothing but good things to say about it.