In times when shows are still few and far between, a live album is a welcome change. I enjoyed listening to the album at hand, even though the music belongs to a genre I rarely get excited about nowadays. But there are always exceptions, and this is one.

Sleepmakeswaves are a post-rock band from Sydney, Australia. The band has been active since 2006, with changing members. Live at the Metro, published by Bird’s Robe, is the recording of a show from 2015. But not just any show. It was the last show of a long tour, played in the band’s hometown, in front of a home audience.

In 2015 the band which had previously supported Russian Circles and Mono had been on a world tour for three months. 55 shows in 22 countries. As you can read on their Bandcamp page in an unusually interesting and well-written info text the tour was the fulfilment of their dreams as musicians and at the same time utterly unromantic and exhausting: It was “the kind of touring where you don’t have much clue what time it is, what day it is, just whether or not your strings need changing. The kind where you’re more tired than you’ve ever been, because you’ve fallen in between the cracks of three different time zones. ”

The last show of the tour took place at the Metro Theater, a live venue in downtown Sydney that the band members knew very well because they had been there many times as fans, to see other bands play. Now they would be on stage there themselves. The fact that this was an exceptionally emotive gig – for the band members and the audience – is more than evident on the live recording. Emotions culminate when, somewhere mid-way, the band addresses the audience in a speech that simply captivates with its obvious honesty. No one who has ever heard a similar speech at a show will be left untouched by it. You just have to appreciate someone sharing their inner life with you in such a way. This is the stuff underground music is made form. This is what separates underground music from its commercial stepsister.

And, of course, the music doesn’t disappoint either. Sleepmakeswaves Live at the Metro offers instrumental post-rock with a bit of electronica, but mostly with drums, keyboards and guitars, displaying a great love for tremolo-picking along the way. Over the course of an hour, the album’s nine tracks provide a very pleasant listening experience, a bit mellow and introverted maybe, but ideal for relaxing at home. Enjoy!

(7.5/10 Slavica)

https://www.facebook.com/sleepmakeswaves

https://sleepmakeswaves.bandcamp.com/album/live-at-the-metro