Formed during lockdown, UK’s Sleep Well Beast have just released their debut single, “Out of Date” – a hard-hitting alt-rock tune with a solid blend of melody and driving guitar. According to the band, it’s a “middle finger to the many bland indie wasteland bands strumming the same four chords and wearing the same black t shirts.” We caught up with Sleep Well Beast to chat about the new music, how they manage to stand out and be different, and the under-the-radar UK bands they’ve been listening to lately.
From The Strait: Tell us about the new single, “Out of Date”.
Sleep Well Beast: Out of date was the first piece of music we started work on when we began the band. It’s sort of our statement piece and we knew right away it would be our first single. It’s chaotic and politically charged lyrically and sonically came together beautifully through our producers Dan And Don. There was a live energy we had to try and capture and those guys understood the assignment!
FTS: For a band that makes a point of daring to be different, how do you ensure that Sleep Well Beast stands out among your musical peers?
Sleep Well Beast: It’s tough because in todays music industry everyone’s trying to stand out. The most important thing is to make sure musically you stand out. Because guitar bands are dead we needed to make sure we move the genre forward in our own way. Taking bits from our favourite electronic artists and moulding them with the guitar music we love has garnered some interesting results. Another big one is branding/image. With our uniform it helps us form a visual symmetry and gives the project a unique vision that’s not just indie landfill!
FTS: What are some under-the-radar UK bands you’re listening to lately, that you think our readers should know about?
Sleep Well Beast:
A) San Quentin
B) Squid
C)China Bears
D) National Service
E) Square Wave
FTS: Your influences range from Deftones (my personal favourite) to Bon Iver – what’s one artist or band you’d most want to do a collaboration with?
Sleep Well Beast:
George: Biffy Clyro
Josh: Kanye West
Ellis: Sampha
We’d have a great time with em all haha
FTS: What’s up next for Sleep Well Beast?
Sleep Well Beast: More Music. More Gigs. More Beast
Check out “Out of Date”, the new single from Sleep Well Beast!