WL//WH Album Premiere: SLEEPING PILLS’ Oceanic Sway Under the Influence of an “Occulting Light”

WL//WH Premiere SLEEPING PILLS

This album is our brightest work yet, as opposed to our previous release “A Bend in Time” which was our darkest opus.

Straight off the sultry sun-scorched seasides of Tampa, Florida, the Post Punk/New Wave trio Sleeping Pills, originally formed in 2015 as a solo project from singer-songwriter Phil Taylor, surfs the mercurial and frothy waves of love through a more immersive, bright and catchy guitar-laden sound with a strong emotional heap, in the band’s new 5th studio album “Occulting Light” via Lurk Records.

We came up with the album name “Occulting Light” while going through a lighthouse glossary, being that this album has an oceanic theme and that this is a brighter album it was perfect.

Drawing glimmers of The Cure’s jangling introspective sadness, early U2 chiming radiance, The Chameleons’ poignant melancholy, Captured Tracks label’s 2010s dreamy indie-ness and The Smiths’ bright kitchen sink romanticism, the 8 songs, set against the beauty and emotional sway of the ocean, rise and fall through stages of love from head-over-heels elation to distrust and sorrow, and finally doubt and fear at the thought of losing it all.

This album had way more influence from the band as a whole than the previous ones, written mainly by me. Our drummer Nate Irizarry also played all of the synths on it, while our new bass player Ben Saylor added backing vocals, it’s been a whole new dynamic. You can hear the difference.Phil Taylor says

A heady array of propulsive rhythms, pulsating basslines and reverb-dusted sheets of sparkling guitar melodies, veering from ringing pain-fueled strains, and loud angsty outbursts to deep wistful arpeggios, adding further emotive and intriguing nuances, while blending seamlessly with the fluid synth overlays, providing dynamic and stirring soundscapes that perfectly coalesce with the sweeping introspective lyrical narrative, mirrored by lovelorn vocals, that shift between dreamy bliss and sad longing with moments of resentment and nostalgia sneaking in.

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