Album Review: Sleeper - The Modern Age

From an Aussie point of view, the return of Britpop superheroes Sleeper after 21 years may seem like an oddity, but in their homeland, the retro-reunion circuit has reignited as many welcome as unwise reformations. 

Thankfully, this is one of the former. With only original bassist Diid Osman declining to join, the opening moments of Paradise Waiting are immediately transportive – it’s as if they’ve never been away. To be honest, absolutely nothing is reinvented, yet nothing is stale either. The Sleeper sound remains like a polished Pixies with a fancier Londinium vocal. However, Louise Wener’s commentary now is more weather-worn. “We have no regrets, we only have debts,” she spits in Dig, which feels sharp in the month of the Brexit fuckstorm. Car Into The Sea takes a cue from drone-rock while still managing to be pretty and Look At You Now could be about fellow retro-activists or about politicians “Still playing all your hits, all the hits... I don’t wanna play your song.” The spectrum of the Sleeper sound between The Modern Age and their Smart 1995 debut may remain narrow, but maybe we’re all just pining for England to be cool again.