In Bad Faith: An EP by Sister Sleep

Your new favorite emo band is here and they're queer.

On October 13th, 2023, the spookiest day of the year, Atlanta-based sextet Sister Sleep blessed the airwaves with their latest independently-released EP In Bad Faith, produced by Aaron Pace.

“In Tenebris” is Latin for “in darkness” which is exactly where we begin this journey. We are guided through the first track with lone, syncopated guitar echoing into nothingness. The track then comes alive with full, distorted guitars and heavy drum hits. Lead vocalist Jamie Shelton joins in with melodies and vocal timbre that throws you back to picking out your next favorite band tee at Hot Topic. Immediately on this track you know you’re in for the next great emo experience since the heydays of The Used and My Chemical Romance with ghostly clockwork chimes and heavily-distorted guitar builds. The emo excellence is brought home with big choruses complete with bouncy, full swing drums that soar under alternating vocalists belting dark lines of a “pitch black paradise”. This is a damn fun introductory track that gives you a fair impression of what to expect going further.

The following track “The Arsonist” sneaks up with familiar drum beats and distorted guitar riffs that vaguely remind me personally of certain Southern California nu metal royalty. The instrumentation explodes into a verse filled with heavily distorted vocals and rhythmic electronic snaps. The full band comes together on the chorus, coming alive with an impressively catchy, melodic hook that delivers harsh, accusatory lyrics. We’re welcomed back again to the verse, but this time accented with smooth, funky basslines spiking through the fray with deep, metallic timbre (that I am always a sucker for, personally). “The Arsonist” is rounded out with an intense, hardcore breakdown complete with vicious chords and off-set rhythms. The chorus comes back once more, featuring ornamental vocals accenting the hook, tying up the track in a clean, melodic bow.

Next up is “Target Practice”, offering a sexy opening bassline, nihilistic lyrics, and what I have personally decided is a cheeky lyrical reference to Paramore’s debut record title. Again, we are shown an absolute mastery in hook-writing with the following chorus accompanied by soft piano notes and sweet harmonies. The shining force in this track is the bass, completely stealing the spotlight on the second verse. I can’t say enough about the deep, heavy timbre and quick fills weaving in and out of the accompanying instrumentation. The other standout element on the second verse is the low-register piano chords crescendoing to mark the end of every few measures. This already impressive track is topped off with a perfectly-paced guitar solo that does not overstay its welcome before leading us back to the hook.

“The Venom You Spit”, the EP’s third single, marks the latter half with a punch to the face (figuratively for the listeners, literally if you’re a fascist). This track is particularly special in that it is arguably the catchiest of this EP’s offerings as well as delivering the most powerful lyrics we’ve heard so far. As an angry trans woman whose default setting is ready to fight a fascist in any setting, to say I relate to Jamie’s lines in this song is an understatement. The vocal and lyrical balance in this song on lines like “I won’t tolerate you preying on the weak” are accented perfectly. The lyrical prowess of this song is propelled further by the funky instrumentation of the full band. The rhythm section’s syncopation goes above and beyond in this one along with the guitars’ tenacious riffs guiding everyone forward.

“We have suffered in silence far too long now. Never again.”

“Lotus (At Night)”, the penultimate track on the EP, gives us a gorgeously dark hardcore ballad. We begin with the full band foreshadowing the chorus theme followed by a somber, lone vocal performance. The melancholic and isolated instrumentation gives more of the spotlight to the keys, guiding us through the darkness one note at a time. The full band comes in again for the chorus as teased at the start, delivering full drum accents and homogenous, legato vocal lines. The shining stars of “Lotus (At Night)” are Jamie’s aggressive vocal performance blended with Kit’s delicate piano melodies. This song is a great reminder of the range of styles Sister Sleep is comfortable playing with at any given time as well as the band’s reliance on each other’s strengths. In the hands of a lesser band this type of formula would deliver a boring track, but this is not a lesser band.

The final song of the EP “Mirrormasked” kicks off with psychedelic guitar, meek vocals, and deep, foreboding bass. Vocals swap after the intro accompanied by slow, steady drum beats. We’re finally led into a gorgeous hook filled out by a full, catchy guitar progression in the chorus. The theme of the EP is brought home with the line “everything I’ve done in bad faith” recited repeatedly in the final moments of the song and part of you wonders, hopes that this heartbreaking ostinato never ends. Even at an “average” song length this final track feels like it’s over too soon. A short and sweet finale to a beautifully honest and heartfelt six-song journey through self-loathing, self-acceptance, and searching for the “lux in tenebris”.

Sister Sleep is:

Jamie Shelton (they/she) - vocals

Kit Savvy (they/them) - keys/vocals

James Holloway (he/him) - guitar

Matty Breesworth (they/she) - guitar

Chase Cowan (he/him) - bass

Riley Mikles (they/them) - Drums

Learn more about the band and listen to their latest EP here.