Sleeping with Sirens Refuse to Run out of Steam in Eighth Studio Album, ‘An Ending in Itself’
When a band spends nearly two decades in the spotlight of a post-hardcore scene they helped pioneer, making it to album eight without sounding tired or creatively slumped is no easy feat. Sleeping with Sirens’ latest, An Ending in Itself, proves the group still has gas in the tank. Throughout the years, Sleeping with Sirens has remained anything but stagnant, both in sound and influence. From Warped Tour staples to leaning further into mainstream alternative rock and back again, the Michigan-based five-piece have cultivated a discography marked by constant sonic exploration.
Produced by Will Yip via Rise Records, the project balances the urgency of their post-hardcore roots with a reflective lens, trading feelings of desperation and inner turmoil for themes of healing, hope and hard-earned resilience through it all. At this point in their journey, Sleeping with Sirens’ sound is simultaneously fresh and nostalgic without dulling the band’s edge. Following the bleakness of 2019’s How It Feels to Be Lost and 2022’s Complete Collapse, their newest record serves as a full-circle reckoning. Sleeping with Sirens is returning to the volatility of their earlier work, tempered by the survival and resolve they’ve reached since.
The 12-track record opens with a bang as the explosive titular “An Ending in Itself” shows off every aspect of what has carried Sleeping with Sirens thus far while hinting that there’s still more to come. Marked by signature crushing breakdowns and frontman Kellin Quinn’s unique, soaring falsettos, “An Ending in Itself” is a powerful start to the group’s return to form, showcasing them at their strongest since 2011’s Let’s Cheers to This. The notion of finding solace in struggling extends into “Forever/Always,” a sentimental love letter to human connection and the importance of finding comfort in those around you. Matty Best’s dynamic drumming is on full display in “God in My Head” as Justin Hill’s driving basslines and Nick Martin’s aggressive chords surround Quinn’s admission of fighting internal battles as his range swells from a lower register to a full-fledged plea for reassurance. “So am I the hero or just like the rest? / And will you still love me when I’m not my best?.”
Riff-driven love song “Need You Here” portrays Quinn’s high tenor range against Tony Pizzuti and Martin’s complex guitar work, underscoring the album’s recurring meditation on emotional support and interdependence. “Left on Repeat” leans into boy band-esque theatrics, opening with catchy “na na na na’s” before collapsing into gritty breakdowns. That vulnerability and intensity carry over to “House of Matches,” pushing further into the album’s simmering angst.
“Paralyzed” barrels forward with uncharted urgency, its down-tuned guitars and soaring riffs giving way to unrestrained screams, among Quinn’s most ferocious on the record. “Process” turns persistence into something infectious, standing out as one of the project’s strongest moments as it embraces the uneven nature of progress and acknowledges quiet struggles without romanticizing them within a genre that often dwells in despair. While “PTSD” is only ten seconds shy of being the shortest Sleeping with Sirens song, it packs a relentless punch, making full use of its runtime with its fast-paced punk rock intensity. Closer “Storm Clouds” explores Quinn’s journey with mental health and patterns of self-destructive behavior through catchy melodies, riffs and thunderous drum beats. “There’s a storm that’s raging in my brain turning my eyes into a blur / I tell myself it won’t be the same / But each time I get up, I just make it worse.” Those stark final lines deepen the album’s emotional pull, ending on a reminder that healing doesn’t occur in a straight line.
An Ending in Itself doesn’t wallow in the vulnerability it confronts, but instead makes space for the messiness of growth, personal struggle and the difficulty of being human. Sleeping with Sirens offer the same grit they’ve carried since their inception, proving years later that they have no intention of slowing down. While An Ending in Itself reads like the close of a chapter, the record tells the story of an ever-hungry band still moving forward with conviction. Whether it marks the end of one era or the beginning of another, it shows the band still knows how to sound urgent, engaged and fully alive.
