Sleeping Seasons - 'Never Would I Choose To Never Love At All' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. MURRAY

2. THINGS THAT SCARE US

3. 1421

4. SILVER

5. THE PUBLISHER

6. TAKE A WALK

7. HAPPY BRAINS

8. REARVIEW MIRROR

9. DEAR BEST FRIEND

10. WHAT A NIGHT

Ask someone what they think of when they hear ‘Tennessee’ and they might say Nashville for Country, others Memphis for the Blues, whilst fans of rhinestones and/or peanut butter will always plump for Graceland. It’s just one of those places that can point to where you like to lay your musical hat. So I was quite excited when I saw that the latest album for review was from a band from Tennessee. Rock from Tennessee…new one on me but I’m game.

Hailing from Munford, C.J. Starnes started off as a solo act before teaming up with Julian Stanz, Tom Hale and Chloie Pennington to form Sleeping Seasons who release their debut album “Never Would I Choose To Never Love At All” at the end of this month. Following on from their debut EP “Tired Bodies”, the new album contains all new material which is a fairly unusual move, given that most bands would opt to include at least one previously released track as a kind of safety blanket. It’s a move that I have to applaud because it shows the confidence this band has in itself. And that confidence is justified – the album is packed to near capacity with great songs both from a musical and vocal perspective.

I say near capacity, as the one song I just couldn’t get on with is “Silver”. It’s not the noise or the heavy guitars (“Dear Best Friend” and “Rearview Mirror” have these in spades) but there’s something about the song that just jars…I don’t know if it’s the word ‘Babe’ making numerous appearances but it doesn’t feel like it belongs on the album. It’s especially jarring given the contrast with the next track on the album “The Publisher” which is just gloriously lovely and has transferred straight onto my general playlist. Other highlights include opening track “Murray” which has a refrain and general structure that reminds me (dare I say it) of the Coldplay but, despite that, is still great, “Happy Brains” and the album closer “What A Night” which has the kind of backing vocals that makes it feel anthemic.

The great thing about writing for 3 Songs & Out is the fact that some releases surprise you and this is a case in point…I was expecting a bog standard Rock album but instead got an album with real depth and moments of brilliance. I would definitely recommend you take a leap of faith and listen to “Never Would I Choose To Never Love Again”…just skip past “Silver” and you’ll be fine.