Sleeping With Sirens – Just Rolling With It

It’s no secret that Florida has a knack for producing some of the finest talent in the post-hardcore scene. There’s clearly something in the water there. However, none have come out of the area in a fashion as spectacular as Sleeping with Sirens. Just two albums and one EP deep, the band have managed to kick in the door, rather than knocking and waiting patiently. There’s no denying the world has Sleeping with Sirens fever, so we caught up with bassist Justin Hills to get to the bottom of it.

Finding a quiet place to take the call must have been a challenge for Hills, who is currently touring through North America with partners in crime and fellow Soundwave attendees Pierce the Veil. “We’re actually in Salt Lake City. It’s going so awesome man, we’ve sold out every single night”. It’s truly testament to the Soundwave 2013 lineup if two of the dozens of bands announced can sell out a full tour on their own. But no one should be surprised.

Since their 2010 debut album With Ears to See and Eyes to Hear, Sleeping with Sirens have become hot favourites to take the world by storm. Instantly connecting with fans and media, the band’s success was immediately visible though what came hand in hand with that, was the pressure to maintain it, “I mean, it’s tough because then we were writing heavier stuff, tying to mesh with the label and stuff, but realised we wanted to write the music we’ve always been listening to and always played. We’ve matured a lot to what we are now, so these days we can just roll with it.”

That being said, why has it taken so long to lock in Australian tour dates? “I don’t know man! We’ve never had the opportunity until now I guess, so we’ve jumped on it.” Better late than never, and judging by the excitement in his voice, Hills felt the same, adding, “I want to see a Koala bear for sure. I know that sounds silly but they look super cool. Also different foods, I’m down to check out the different culture”

On that note I pointed him in the direction of Kangaroo meat, what better why to sample Australian culture than by eating the animal on our coat of arms! “Ok, Awesome. Done.”

Earlier in the year, the band made a noticeable detachment from their sound on the If You Were a Movie, This Would Be Your Soundtrack EP. The record was comprised of acoustic renditions of previously released tunes. You’d need to spend about 5 seconds on a Sleeping With Sirens-related thread to see just how loyal and ferrous their fans are, we got to talking about how understanding they are of the band’s musical exploration, “Well, we did that because a lot of the fans would just film us playing acoustic songs at the end of a show some nights. They’d throw them up on YouTube and other people were listening to it there so we thought we’d release this and put the acoustic ones on it, and even some acoustic versions of songs never before heard”

“It’s been doing really well, there’s been a great reaction from the fans so far,” he added, “[The fans] are great, it’s because of them we get to tour Europe you know, and Australia because it does get expensive.”

Now onto Soundwave, Justin explained something we very rarely get to hear: “Soundwave is massive over here. Even my Aunt and Uncle know what Soundwave is. These are all bands I grew up listening to you know? This is next level. It’s massive. Something we’ve always dreamed of doing. So far from home and such a big festival. It’s huge. Every show is sold out – that’s crazy.”

And as if SWS fans weren’t already excited enough, come January/February next year, the band will be entering the studio to begin work on their next full length album. “We’re about to go into the studio our winter. Finishing up, then going back out again for some small runs in some awesome places which I’m not allowed to say yet. We should have the album out by early summer, late spring.” So does this mean some new tunes come Soundwave? “I’m really hoping so, I think so – I’m going to bank on it…Nothing else has been set in stone but I’m sure there’s going to be some awesome stuff. Kellin [Quinn, vocals] has a lot of friends.”

Not only will they be touring here for the first time, but they will also be bearing new material. It’s no wonder why Sleeping with Sirens are loved-up by fans all over the world, they know how to treat them! It’s now our turn to check out what the rest of the world have been going all goo-goo-ga-ga for. Sleeping With Sirens.

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