Album Review: Sleep Parade - Inside/Out

When I heard Melbourne rockers Sleep Parade had released a new album, I dug around for my old Sleep Parade shirt and had a nostalgic re-listen of their 2008 album Things Can Always Change. The band has completely transformed their sound to a more indie-pop vibe and have revealed a new, more mature sound with their new album Inside/Out. Alongside this new sound comes a vastly improved vocal range from lead vocalist Leigh Davies and an album that is enticing, captivating and downright fantastic.

Beginning with Devil's Door, Sleep Parade slowly transitions their old fans into their new sound with a heavy, yet incredibly melodic piece. The transition is slow and subtle, but the band have found a way to incorporate everything the fans loved about Sleep Parade from five years ago and worked with this to produce songs such as Home and Mirrors, with Davies' voice soaring above the well-arranged melodic pieces.

Evidence of the band's new jazz, electronic and hip hop influences can be found in songs such as harmony-driven beauty Footsteps, where the melody-laden sounds of Sleep Parade that you know are entwined with an electronic beat and soaring pop score. With its Matt Corby-like acoustic guitar and soft vocals, and its deviation from the overall indie-pop sound of the album, The River proves itself as the obvious standout of Inside/Out.

Despite changing their sound to something that is currently more 'listener friendly', Sleep Parade have maintained and improved their ability to write and produce tracks that are memorable on their own and work in harmony to make an album that shows off how hard the band has come in terms of maturity and production quality.