Sir Sly‘s full-length has been one of my most anticipated records since I first heard their EP last year. From the very first note on that four-song release they did a great job of creating a foreboding atmosphere. Their music exists in the dark spaces that most pop songs don’t dare to venture. Whether or not You Haunt Me could live up to my expectations was a big question, and it wasn’t immediately answered.
When I saw the tracklist for this new record, I was crestfallen. Not only do they use all the tracks from the EP here, but they make up four of the first five cuts. Not since the mini-album A Balloon Called Moaning turned into The Big Roar have I been so annoyed with the recycling of music. They’re re-ordered here, and the title track breaks it up so they aren’t all in a row, but it’s still a letdown.
However, it does work. The rest of the songs on You Haunt Me are definitely a continuation of their earlier work, and the album feels like a cohesive piece of work rather than cutting and pasting old stuff with new. And honestly, I like Gold enough that repeating it isn’t the worst thing in the world to hear.
The band take a lot of interesting chances with their music-the breakdown on “Found You Out,” the drastic tonal shift in “Nowhere/Bloodlines pt 1” that leads straight into a dance floor ready “Inferno” all reward the attentive listener.
Much of the success of each song hinges on how much you appreciate the vocals of frontman Landon Jacobs. His voice is smooth enough to evoke the kind of ethereal effect they’re going for, but at times I feel like it would fit better in a lower register. He reminds me a bit of Alec Ounsworth from Clap Your Hands Say Yeah an hour after a bottle of Ambien.
To be completely truthful, I don’t think the new stuff is as good as the original EP, but it’s still pretty good. Certainly better than a lot of stuff I’ve heard over the past couple months. I definitely recommend checking them out. There are some real gems on You Haunt Me even if they’re aren’t as solid as Gold.
You can purchase a copy of You Haunt Me, released on Cherrytree Records, here. The band is currently on a cross-country tour, stopping here in Chicago on September 19th at Subterranean.