Defeater – Empty Days & Sleepless Nights

Sleepless Nights

The latter part of the record is an acoustic EP entitled Sleepless Nights.  It takes the ideas brought forth in 'Prophet in Plain Clothes' and runs with it.  On some levels I like it more than on others.  Each song is well-written and performed, there's this western feel that is carried over from the earlier part of the record.  It is somber, diverse and emotes the feelings of sadness and betrayal quite well.

The stand-out on Sleepless Nights is the song 'Brothers'.  It is the most complex of all of the acoustic songs, using strings and piano to fill out the mood of the song and accentuate the dynamic of the relationship.  It is where I believe Sleepless Nights climaxes, though the lyrical climax does not coincide.

As much as I loved Sleepless Nights, I was a little disappointed that it lacked the vigorand the drive that 'Prophet in Plain Clothes' had. I think I had been hoping for a folk punk record, fast, loud and out of key; full of energy and budget recorded. My disappointment may be in the fact that they did it so well; Sleepless Nights is well-written, performed and produced, not at all like a crossover, or anything with "punk" appended, but it feels like Defeater have been making this kind of music all along.

Nothing about this record says "hardcore band playing acoustic," it just displays the brilliance and versatility of Defeater while adding a 3rd dimension to the story of this family.  As an acoustic EP, Sleepless Nights is a 10.