Amid Buffalo’s flourishing hardcore scene and sea of emo- and shoegaze-inspired indie bands, there’s a strong community of folk-punk musicians whose amazing work seems to lurk a bit below the surface.
Artists such as Smitten for Trash, Cardboard Homestead, pjn x and Wyatt Coin (just to name a few) are not only out there doing their thing, they’re doing it extraordinarily well, adding another important dimension to Buffalo’s rich DIY landscape.
Now, a new voice has emerged on the city’s folk-punk scene by the name of Sleep Debt Ceiling, and they deserve your attention. Sleep Debt Ceiling is the alter ego of guitarist-vocalist James Stephenson, who on Aug. 16 dropped their Demo EP which is now available HERE.
We’ve had this EP on heavy rotation since its release. The four-song recording is a simple, straight-forward work “stripped down to just me on acoustic guitar to make sure it actually got finished,” Stephenson notes.
With songs such as “Narcan Supernova” and “Nightmares in the Daytime,” the Sleep Debt Ceiling demo examines issues such as depression, drugs, trauma and loss of identity.
In this house I haven’t left,
Nails keep falling from the roof,
There is no one to impress,
I have no value and this is the proof
—Guarantee (from Sleep Debt Ceiling Demo EP)
“I’d gotten very isolated over the past year and got stuck in some patterns that weren't helping,” Stephenson said on Sleep Debt Ceilng’s Bandcamp page. “I took a month to change up my process a bit and this project came out of it.”
Despite the subject matter, it would be a mistake to assume this EP is a downer. What’s special here is the keen sense of black humor that permeates the writing and delivery of Stephenson’s well-crafted lyrics.
I want my life destroyed in a sexy way,
I want my bank account empty yesterdayI’m living like I’m rushing towards a thousand graves—Self-Obsessed and Miserable (from Sleep Debt Ceiling Demo EP)
If you haven’t already, jump quickly on this record.
Meanwhile, you can catch Sleep Debt Ceiling live onSaturday Sept. 7at Nietzsche’s as part of the bill forThe Spit Sisters EP release show
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