Madness (Sleeping with Sirens album)

Madness
Studio album by Sleeping with Sirens
Released March 13, 2015[1]
Recorded June–September 2014
Genre
Length 38:04
Label Epitaph
Producer John Feldmann
Sleeping with Sirens chronology
Feel
(2013)		 Madness
(2015)		 Live and Unplugged
(2016)
Singles from Madness
  1. "Kick Me"
    Released: November 10, 2014
  2. "We Like It Loud"
    Released: January 1, 2015
  3. "Go Go Go"
    Released: January 22, 2015
  4. "The Strays"
    Released: May 9, 2015
  5. "Better Off Dead"
    Released: September 9, 2015

Madness is the fourth full-length studio album by American post-hardcore band Sleeping with Sirens. The album was released on March 13, 2015 through Epitaph Records. The entire album was self-produced by Sleeping with Sirens with John Feldmann. The album is the band's first release following their departure from Rise Records in 2014. It's also the first record to feature guitarist Nick Martin (Cinematic Sunrise) who replaced former guitarist Jesse Lawson. Madness was preceded by lead single "Kick Me" as well as a string of digital singles released in the days leading up to the album's release. The album continues the band's progression to a more pop rock sound, but retains some post-hardcore influences on tracks.[2]

Background and recording

Following the release of the band's third studio album, Feel (2013), they toured extensively worldwide in support of the album. In early 2014, the band entered the studio in Nashville, Tennessee and recorded 13 tracks with Nick Raskulinecz, however later scrapped them and recorded new material for a fourth album in Los Angeles, California. The band recorded a total of 15 new tracks with producer John Feldmann. Quinn explains, "We just planned on going to Feldmann to do 2 or 3 songs and after we got in there, I'm like, 'we're gonna re-do this whole thing."[5] The two bonus tracks, "Parasites" and "2 Chord" were produced by Raskulinecz.

Sound and influence

Madness is a pop rock album with punk and hardcore influences. According to a review by Radio.com, the album has "empowering lyrics and anthem-like sing-along choruses" and is "massive, emotional, and speaks directly to disaffected youth and others who’ve been told they’ll never amount to anything."[3] Due to the fact that the album's recording sessions took place throughout a time where Sleeping with Sirens were not signed to a record label and had little money, frontman Kellin Quinn said "it's always chaotic and madness and just being caught in the middle of it and figuring out who you are in the midst of all the craziness."[3]

Release

To promote the album, the band announced the title, album art cover, and track listing on January 22, 2015 and released the single "Go Go Go" on the same day accompanied with its music video premiere on Epitaph's official YouTube channel. Prior to this, the band released "Kick Me", the album's lead single, on November 16, 2014. In support of the album, the band released a new song everyday from March 9 to March 16.[6] "Fly" was released on March 9, "We Like It Loud" was released on March 10, "Gold" was released on March 11, "Better Off Dead" was released on March 12, and "Save Me a Spark" was released on March 13, 2015.

Reception

Commercial reception

As of August 2015, the album sold 79,200 copies.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[8]
Alternative Press[9]
Exclaim!4/10[10]
Kerrang!
The New York Times[11]

The album received generally positive reviews from professional music critics. According to review aggregate Metacritic, the album received a 74 out of 100 based on 6 reviews, citing "generally positive reviews".

Radio.com editor Jay Tilles talked about the album's third single, "The Strays" in his review stating: "Of the album’s 13 songs, sixth track “The Strays” stands out like a sore thumb. With its empowering lyrics and anthem-for-the-underdogs chorus, it’s massive, emotional, and speaks directly to disaffected youth and others who’ve been told they’ll never amount to anything. “Lost and thrown away/you know we’re better than that,” sings Kellin Quinn, the band’s frontman, his voice a deceptively delicate tenor that has become one of the band’s defining sounds."[3]

Branan Ranjanathan for Exclaim! was more negative, feeling the album lacked cohesiveness, writing: "With their latest album, Sleeping With Sirens have tried to appeal to every group that has ever taken an interest in their particular sound, creating a disorienting, cluttered set of songs that lacks any definitive direction. Over the years the band's sound has shifted from straightforward post-hardcore to something more accessible to a pop audience, but Madness is a muddled attempt at fusing both sounds within a single album." [12]

The album was included at number 25 on Rock Sound's top 50 releases of 2015 list.[13] Madness was nominated for Album Of The Year at the 2016 Alternative Press Music Awards.[14]

Track listing

All song titles and durations were taken from iTunes Store.[15]

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Kick Me"  Kellin Quinn, John Feldmann, Nicholas Furlong 2:31
2. "Go Go Go"  Quinn, Feldmann, Simon Wilcox, Jack Fowler 2:47
3. "Gold"  Quinn, Feldmann, Emily Warren 3:32
4. "Save Me a Spark"  Quinn, Feldmann, Wilcox, Joel Madden 3:39
5. "Fly"  Quinn, Feldmann 3:35
6. "The Strays"  Quinn, Feldmann, Wilcox 2:58
7. "Left Alone"  Quinn, Feldmann, Jacob Hindlin 3:20
8. "Better Off Dead"  Quinn, Feldmann, Furlong 3:08
9. "We Like It Loud"  Quinn, Feldmann 2:17
10. "Heroine"  Quinn, Feldmann, Warren 3:35
11. "November"  Quinn, Feldmann, Furlong 3:29
12. "Madness"  Quinn, Feldmann, Wilcox 2:42
13. "Don't Say Anything"  Quinn, Feldmann, Wilcox 3:16
Total length:
 38:04
Deluxe version bonus tracks
No. Title Length
14. "Parasites"   2:55
15. "2 Chord"   4:49
Total length:
 45:08

Personnel

Sleeping With Sirens
Production

Chart performance

Peak positions

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[16] 13
UK Albums (Official Charts Company) 26
US Billboard 200 13

Year-end charts

Chart (2015) Position
U.S. Billboard Hard Rock Albums[17] 18
U.S. Billboard Independent Albums[18] 26
U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums[19] 62

References

Citations
  1. ↑ Madness. Sanity. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Sleeping With Sirens Madness. Musicfeeds. Retrieved March 13, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Sleeping With Sirens 'Madness' Album Review « Radio.com". radio.com. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  4. ↑ Stein, Claire (March 20, 2015). "Sleeping with Sirens Is Bringing Emo-Punk Back with Their New Album". InStyle. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  5. ↑ #SkinnyJeanProblems, re-recording, tour hangouts and more with Sleeping With Sirens. YouTube. 11 December 2014. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Sleeping With Sirens on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Metal by Numbers appendix: 2015's biggest selling metal so far". Metal Insider. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  8. ↑ James Christopher Monger (March 17, 2015). "Madness - Sleeping with Sirens". Allmusic. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  9. ↑ Jason Pettigrew (March 17, 2015). "Sleeping With Sirens show how that they are poised for greater things with 'Madness' (review)". Alternative Press. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  10. ↑ Ranjanathan, Branan (March 17, 2015). "Sleeping with Sirens - Madness". Exclaim!. Retrieved March 25, 2015.
  11. ↑ Jon Caramanica (March 16, 2015). "Sleeping with Sirens - Madness". The New York Times. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Sleeping With Sirens". exclaim.ca. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  13. ↑ Bird, ed. 2016, p. 25
  14. ↑ Whitt, Cassie (March 18, 2016). "Here are the nominees for the 2016 AP Music Awards!". Alternative Press. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  15. ↑ "iTunes - Music - Madness (Deluxe Edition) by Sleeping With Sirens". iTunes. Retrieved August 12, 2015.
  16. ↑ "ARIA Australian Top 50 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. March 23, 2015. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Hard Rock Albums : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  18. ↑ "Digital Albums : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
  19. ↑ "Top Rock Albums : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
Sources
  • Bird, Ryan, ed. (January 2016). "Top 50 Releases of the Year". Rock Sound. London: Freeway Press Inc. (208). ISSN 1465-0185. 
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