Electric President

Sleep Well

(Morr)

Record Review by Amber Henson

Electric President holds a special place in my heart.  Their self-titled debut album was the first I reviewed for The Red Alert, almost three years ago.  I was so nervous about impressing my editor that I must have listened to that CD ten times before even starting to make notes.  A lot has changed in three years.  And yet, their new album, Sleep Well, brings me back to those heady days, while keeping things fresh.
The synths are back.  The Matrix-like paranoia is back.  And those intoxicating beats are back.  But there’s a new twist on all of it.  The lyrics are more coherent and concerning.  “My insides are hollow now” is sung in the first track, “We are the thoughts that you were warned about” rings true on the second track.  The song "It’s An Ugly Life" explains: “Now it’s just peace of mind you’re dreaming of.  I stumbled through your doorway and fell out of my skin.”  Ahh!  Creepy!

Sometimes bands don’t feel like they’re evolving unless their second album is remarkably different from their first.  But I think that’s crap.  If you make good music, and I like it, then make more.  Not everyone has to be Radiohead, pushing themselves to change their sound on every album.  This album really more continues the story that the first one started.  Things get a little slower, but band members Ben Cooper and Alex Kane have created something that comes together, and is tighter than their debut.  The songs are longer overall, with a couple of instrumental interludes spaced in evenly. 

The star of the album is "Lullaby".  It sounds like a musical lullaby, with that tinkering music box sound, but lyrically - not so much: “The wolves at the door can hear you and I think I see eyes under your couch.”  Oh good!  Something to play in the nursery!  Babies can’t understand words anyway.

Speaking of babies, Electric President is mine, and I’m so proud of their second effort.  They’re all grown up!