Indie Blog Scotland - deeper sleeper

Anybody who knows me knows my undying love for The Backseat Lovers, the indie-shoegaze quartet from Provo, Utah. Their all-encapsulating sound, their diversity in playstyles, the crushing lyrics and the blindingly beautiful melodies, all under one genre-bending band is nothing short of absolutely incredible. However, since the band's last album, they have been seemingly very quiet.

At least, that was the case - until frontman and lead writer Joshua Harmon announced he would be releasing some solo project work, under the alias "deeper sleeper".

Of course, the prospect of a solo project from the guy who's done the bulk of the songwriting across two albums and an EP, including tracks like Kilby Girl, Still a Friend, and Snowbank Blues was tantalising - and so, with the release date planned to be 11/10/24, I'm gearing myself up as I press that pre-save button.

I have no idea what to expect - perhaps Harmon will lean more into the acoustic side, as he did with Waiting To Spill, or he'll subvert everybody's expectations and experiment a little (or a lot) with synthesised beats.

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Well, which was it? He only had to go and do both, didn't he?

I was bloody right about leaning into the acoustics - opening with a plain, yet beautiful melody in conjunction with the artist's vocals, and a subtle, yet harsh kick. right now wouldn't be out of place on any album from The Lumineers, especially when complimented by Harmon's nostalgic lyricism. As the track draws to a close, a distorted frequency begins to squeal in the background - and as we enter good morning neighbor ! it becomes clear that this frequency eluded to the synth riff that leads track two. There are some very interesting vocal effects being used here - almost akin to an old telephone call, with the way the microphone is slightly compressed. But, the track draws to a very abrupt close just as we're expecting it to pick up again.

As the third track, spring garden opens, we are greeted by a pair of high pitched guitar melodies playing off of each other. This song serves as an amazing display of Joshua's vocal range, matched by very few in the industry - with multiple vocal tracks layered on top of one another in the chorus. This is a very relaxed song overall, despite all the drums, guitars and bass - it sounds as though it was made for a stadium show, in a way. It's big, although relaxed. There is a brief monologue from who sounds like a post man, as he is cut short and we enter track four.

the bounty, much like right now, opens with some soft acoustic guitar as Harmon's vocals carry the drumbeat in slowly. Again, there are some interesting vocal effects on this one - a pair of slightly desynced tracks, or some very quick delay cause some slight disparity in listening - in an almost uneasing way as a high pitch slowly ascends. The song draws to a sharp close, like others have already, while this pitch reaches its crescendo - before kicking back in, as Joshua gets experimental yet again - messing around with his own voice to create some muffled backing noise, before again cutting the song off sharply.

And, yet again, we hear that beautiful acoustic guitar - as an earlier deeper sleeper single makes its way onto the album. angie's orchard is a slow and relaxing song, again, very nostalgic in a way, complimented by a repeating guitar-led melody. With many other backing tracks playing around it, such as the creaking of a swing, the rushing of wind, it plays very well into this thematic approach.

wishing for you is another prior single from deeper sleeper, acousticaly led, with a chimey background sound - as Harmon's vocals, once again, steal the show. His higher ranges are incredible, almost angelic in a way. Again, a lot of effects on this track; the prior mentioned chiming, the crackling of what can be presumed as a record player, and yet more layered vocals from the artist. Towards the outro of the track, there is a beautiful introduction to the piano and drums, that sounds very akin to The Backseat Lovers' second studio album, Waiting to Spill. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this was actually intended as a b-side for the record, it fits perfectly in vibes and sound.

Woah there. Electronic chime of a household appliance, and a makeshift drum sequence? Hell yeah! ancient rome and farm animals is one of the songs on this album I'm definitely going to share on to other people that I know. With such a majestic acoustic guitar-driven track, complimented by this very DIY sounding drumbeat, and the artist's vocals yet again on a full display. The track's outro features some lovely chopping chimes that sound straight off of a Life is Strange soundtrack, too (that is absolutely meant as a compliment!).

Then we enter the diamond crystal. A chilling introduction with dissonant vocal harmonies, as they finally resolve into a soft-spoken monologue. Then, we enter the leading track from the album - maggie's waltz.

This track has an expertly crafted music video, hand-drawn by Kogan Cult - and is a slightly bemusing song. I wouldn't really say it's a song, as such - but rather serves in conjunction with the diamond crystal as a storytelling aid. What is the story, though? Do we know? I don't, and I don't think we're really meant to. Hence the erraticness and constant changing of the music video, with the unclear vocals and speech.

Moving swiftly on, it's another one of the earlier singles - want. And again, Harmon displays his guitar prowess with some form of drop tuning allowing him to craft a godly guitar part. As the track fully picks up into full swing, and his vocals become more raspy or shouty with a loud bass and drums, it sounds a lot like The Blinders for a brief moment - before all calming down again, as we hear the artist shivering, unsettling the listener slightly as the track closes out.

riverflies! I fell in love with this song when I came across deeper sleeper for the first time a couple of months ago. Just such a simplistically elegant song with its DADGAD (I believe!) tuning allowing for easier playing while Joshua focuses more on his vocals - brilliantly delivering, as always.

The penultimate track, ironically, is named winding up - and opens with the creaks of a chair and moving of cables. Eventually, the song does actually begin - with a lovely strong bassline, and quietly complimentary banjo (?), with Harmon's vocals at the clearest they've been through the entire record. He sounds wistful, reminiscent almost - and the structuring of the track really does accentuate this. As the vocals draw to a close, the strings become slightly erratic and mismatched with the track, as a more ominous, deep pitch rises from the background - before being overtaken by a major harmonic.

Finally, we come to a close with this is red leader - as another makeshift drumbeat eases us, with chilling vocal layers, into another wonderful buildup as Harmon takes another opportunity to display his otherworldly range... and the house lights fade back in.

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So. To summarise: this album is hauntingly beautiful. Expertly crafted from many, many years of musicianship in various capacities, from an artist who has never been shy to experiment in various ways - and where do I even start on the inspirations, the variety, the production? I really did try not to let bias skew me on this one, but I cannot in good faith rate it any lower. I've always loved The Backseat Lovers, and found myself practically in a fit of giggles to see any activity on their social pages in recent months - but I feel that entirely regardless of that passion for the band, Joshua has really proven himselfto be much more than just the face of one of the greatest indie rock bands, probably ever. He's an incredibly talented musician, with an aptitude for structuring and presenting his ideas in such a way that you, as the listener, are invited to join his emotional journey - through all the emotions of love, grief, anger, despair and loss.

Mr. Harmon, if you read this, you can be very proud of this album. It's an absolute artpiece, and only plays into your strengths. I couldn't be any happier with the result, and I can absolutely see myself with this on repeat for the foreseeable future. And you, the reader - thank you for reading my passionate waffle about an exceptional album. But don't just take my word for it. Give it a listen for yourself here.

Give yourself a pat on the back, and enjoy the very first five star album rating from Indie Blog Scotland.

Overview

Incredible range of inspirations, genre-bending and insane levels of craftsmanship on display.

Strengths

Weaknesses

None. I don't know how, he just doesn't miss.