Sleeping with Sirens' Acoustic EP is actually really good

     About a month ago, as part of my 'Countdown to Warped' series of posts, I took a critical look at this summer's eminent superstars - Florida quartet Sleeping with Sirens. I came away completely and utterly shocked as to how such a generic band could capture the hearts and souls of so many people (not just teenage girls!). With countertenor vocalist Kellin Quinn as their only claim to uniqueness (and a pretty paltry one at that), I concluded that Sleeping with Sirens are a dirty word in the hardcore community - overrated.
      You can read my full rant here, but it came to my attention that the band had released an acoustic EP (Entitled If You Were a Movie, This Would be Your Soundtrack) in late June. As late as I am to the party with this, I decided to buckle myself in for one last tour of mediocrity with Sleeping with Sirens.
      And...I was surprised. This is actually one of the most relaxing and pleasant releases of the summer. While all five tracks are simply acoustic covers of existing SWS songs, the band approaches each one in a unique way, putting out five songs with a fundamentally different feel to each of them. That, by itself, is commendable - acoustic guitar is a difficult instrument to master. It's far too easy to use the same chord patterns constantly and have all your music blur together.
       Just as well, a healthy amount of folk influences in the form of background ambience heighten the calm sound of the EP. Quinn's pitiful screams are thankfully absent, and his voice melds seamlessly with the guitarwork of underappreciated guitarists Jack Fowler and Jesse Lawson to create a soothing experience. New song 'Roger Rabbit' incorporates a mixture of country and R&B elements, with rhythmic verses and heavily strummed choruses. The variety of influences that never detracts from the overall mood of the EP fundamentally adds to the experience of listening to it. Instrumentally, this is a beautiful album, and with a few hitches in the acoustic rendition of 'If I'm James Dean, then You're Audrey Hepburn', the mellow nature of the EP is an interesting change of pace from the anemic energy of SWS' studio albums.
         The thing about acoustic songs, for a hardcore group, is hitting emotion square on the nose. If a band can deliver that emotional kick, the song resonates with the listener right in the feels - I know a few friends who have been moved to tears by Silverstein's 'The End' or A Day to Remember's 'If It Means a Lot to You'. And, unfortunately, this is where If You Were a Movie falls flat.
         Simply put - every song is a love ballad. The lyrics, while gorgeously written, lack variety. It's hard to feel any sort of emotion for someone singing about their experiences being in love - the aforementioned Silverstein and ADTR songs are about incredible loss, which are events far more likely to happen to the average person. Perhaps this is a liberty the band took Bin another attempt to hide behind Quinn's voice, but that might be too harsh.
          More likely, it's an attempt by the band to maximize the EP's folk/country feel. Love songs are a rarity in hardcore, and while SWS' studio releases have a healthy amount of them, acoustic renditions of aggressive songs are pretty laughable (Springsteen *cough* *cough*), so a safe bet is to go with what's been tried and true. While it's a little bit unfortunate, I can't beat on the band for this too hard - acoustic EPs are hard enough to do as is.
           All together, this is a sound Sleeping with Sirens can go places with. Their harder sound was lackluster at best, but this acoustic EP shows that there's still potential, and the band is still trying desperately to find its sound. Once it does, Quinn's voice will live up to the hype it's been given so far. Check this EP out - it's a good one. Hopefully, some day, SWS will stop being 'Kellin Quinn and Friends'.
You can listen to 'James Dean and Audrey Hepburn' here: