Sleepwalker latest single is a sizzling blues stomper with a hefty deal of gravitas to its monumental guitar riff and terrific vocal charisma. Single-handedly, Sleepwalker is readily able to keep a musical traditional alive and well.
Brainchild of Kevin Harrison, a singer and songwriter based in New Jersey, Sleepwalker’s latest single is titled ‘Burn’. After years of derivative blues rock, over-produced stompers in the same vein as ‘Burn’, Sleepwalker’s effort in tackling the style is a scruffy, gritty, and monstrously fuzzy rocker that’s lo-fi, loaded with charm and sultriness. A sweet contrast between thunderous choruses that feature a textbook beast of a riff and a tone and verses that are balanced, attractive, and lulling, we get a clear glimpse of a capable songwriter who knows how and when to hold back, or to let it all loose.
A tonal shift for Harrison who has been releasing music for a decade and a half, under his own name and with a few groups such as Broken Compass Society, ‘Burn’ sees Harrison forfeit his usual folk sensibilities for a DIY blues rock sound that he nails right on the head. There can be no discussion about ‘Burn’ without mentioning how ridiculously good sounding it is. Solidly produced, the song’s edgy guitars and saucy wails are handled in a garage-y fashion that gives them just that extra squeeze, making the song sound distinctive and very bold.
‘Burn’ is simply a ton of fun. A song about keeping flames alive is doing just that, breathing fresh air into a genre that has been suffering from a lack in truly creative output for some time. Superbly executed and -despite the fuzzy shock it induces- delicately balanced.
