Dublin songwriter Tom Doyle – creating music as The Neon Sea – welcomes listeners from the alternative rock, post-punk and shoegaze realms all at once, with the ethereal guitar sound and rising anticipation of Sleepwalker.
Blending a beautifully atmospheric rock sound, akin to the likes of Placebo in my view, with a gentle indie vocal that weaves in the shoegaze aspect amidst the distance of reverb, Sleepwalker is both a brilliantly produced indie rock track, and a finely written original song.
The single is loaded with poetic refences and deeply personal sentiments all at once, and the intensity gathers with addictive boldness and energy throughout – taking the listener on a kind of sonic and euphorically emotional journey, but barely scraping past the 2.5 minute mark in the process.
It’s a brief yet striking listen, a kind of quiet scream in some ways – a song that urges you to turn up the volume, tune in more closely, and listen again and again, to fully connect with the depth and passion of it’s make-up.
An easy favourite from this month so far, and a timeless introduction to the weight and wonder of The Neon Sea.
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