Coming to you with a ‘lil Queue It Up because last week I received an email containing the new Sleep Token single and I don’t know where else to go to talk about it, and these singles coming out lately have really gotten me into the spring mood. I need these flowers to start blooming already, allergies be damned.

Sleep Token – “Emergence”

We’ve been receiving cryptic emails from Sleep Token for a month or so. Here’s a little breakdown of how this has all played out. You could either choose “House Veridian” or “Feathered Host”; I went with the former. My main theory is that whichever option got more picks determined which single dropped, and we may get another single (maybe next month?) that would’ve dropped first if “Feathered Host” had dominated. Eventually an Instagram account dropped some sheet music and then it was sort of radio silence for a bit.

Now, the Sleep Token site shows the official album announcement for the new album, Even In Arcadia, releasing May 9th. The lead single is a six-and-a-half minute epic called “Emergence”. It feels a little formulaic, a sort of “Summoning Part 2”, but it’s cool nonetheless. The saxophone at the end really shocked me at first listen – a collab with Bilmuri’s sax player, Gabi Rose. I am excited at the prospect of a new Sleep Token album, and I’m even more excited that we don’t have to wait that long for it.

Charmer – “Arrowhead”

We love a pop punk track here at It’s All Dead, and Michigan scene vets Charmer are back with the second single from their upcoming album Downpour, which is set to drop May 23rd. This is the perfect release time frame to lead me from my spring to summer pop punk obsession. The lead single “Rose Thorns” dropped back in October, but I like this second single better. “Arrowhead” hits hard and fast, and is a welcome addition to the emo revival sound. I’m looking forward to getting into some deep cuts when it comes to my pop punk this summer, falling in love with bands I haven’t given a chance in a while.

Sunflower Bean – “Nothing Romantic”

I feel like this a year that a lot of my older favorites / one hit wonder bands are releasing and I’m thinking Sunflower Bean was a band I should’ve stuck with. Their new album Mortal Primetime releases on April 25th. When I first got into them it was because of their song “I Was a Fool” from the 2018 full length Twentytwo In Blue. They fall into that type of artist that won’t let the past go, so they freshen it up. Twentytwo In Blue was 60’s-esque, but this new album is definitely drawing from the 80’s, with lead vocalist Julia Cummings sounding very much like Debbie Harry. This should be a fun project to groove to this spring – it’s giving trips to the drive-in and poking your head out of the sunroof and relishing in the sunlight.

by Nadia Alves

Nadia Alves has been a music enthusiast since she can remember. Going to shows is her main pastime. The other is being upset when she can’t go to shows. This is her first official venture into writing about music. You can follow her on Twitter.