Album Review: Another Sky – 'I Slept On The Floor'
If you haven’t heard of Another Sky yet, it’s high time to climb out from that rock you must have been living under and treat yourself to a dose of their exceptional debut album ‘I Slept On The Floor’.
Their undeniably cinematic sound defies explanation. How do you describe an album that seems to span an entire galaxy with each song living in its own little ecosystem? You find balance in the basics, gravity in facts and figures.
In its essence, ‘I Slept On The Floor’ is a journey. Starting with atmospheric opener ‘How Long’ and finding a beautiful conclusion in closing track ‘Only Rain’, “it describes the story of us moving to a big city,” vocalist Catrin explains. “You move somewhere new feeling like ‘I've been no-one my whole life and now I'm going to be someone,’ and then suddenly you see ‘we are only individuals in the context of each other’ written on a wall and realise it’s all bigger than you”.
Each song thrills with an incredibly immersive soundscape. Rich, continuously changing instrumental backdrops give the tracks a unique pace and mentality while Catrin’s distinctive vocals form new constellations, inspiring awe with every perfectly timed note. There is a tension to ‘I Slept On The Floor’ that seeps through its ghostly undertones and poetic lyricism. “Humanity is a prison ground” Catrin sings on ‘Riverbed’, a track tackling the dangers of childhood trauma that makes her already magnetic vocals sound like a prayer. Intriguingly emotive, Another Sky never fail to keep you captive in their storytelling. Whether they’re painting personal or political landscapes, the band make themselves heard.
Probably the most important political statement in times of Brexit, Donald Trump and #MeToo comes in the form of ‘Avalanche’. While a large portion of the album is soaked in melancholy, ‘Avalanche’ is laced with anger. Punchy rhythms and menacing guitars give life to a riot, an act of defiance that culminates in a roaring battle cry of “when you hold them to account, they’ll spit you out. Just a bad taste in their mouth.” Blunt and unapologetically vocal, Another Sky use their music to send a message - addressing topics such as mental health and toxic masculinity - but most importantly, to start a conversation: “I didn't realise how much silence plays into society, and how much people are indoctrinated to believe that they shouldn't talk about anything difficult. But we're all affected by what's going on so we have to talk about these issues, because if we don’t, we can't understand why we feel so desperate, let alone solve it.” ‘All Ends’ eases this tension running through the album’s hard-hitting themes. With gentle guitars and the soft sigh of bright piano lines, the track feels like rain after a thunderstorm, washing away the remnants of chaos and smoothing over the cracks – “There will be no one to know we failed and no one to know it mattered.”
From top to bottom, ‘I Slept On The Floor’ is an absolute masterpiece. Another Sky have, without a trace of doubt, solidified their status as one of the most exciting bands of the decade. They have created a niche, a brand of sound, that is uniquely theirs. People can try, but no one and nothing will ever compare to the sheer magic that fuels Another Sky’s music.
Words by Laura Freyaldenhoven