Where Words Are Not (Always) Needed
[Mostly] without lyrics to underscore their song’s meanings, post-rock trio Sleepmakeswaves have learnt to find the beauty in the “translational chasm” that exists between artist and listener. They’ve poured themselves into their fifth album, It’s Here, But I Have No Names For It, and now they’re excited for their fans to find themselves, and not its creators, reflected in its music. Prog caught up with the band to find out more.
Words: Phil Weller Images: Declan Blackall
Poster boys, Sleepmakeswaves.
“I think we’ve all got tired of the very relentlessly serious posture of post-rock. Ultimately this is about entertainment and fun.”
Alex Wilson
On 2020’s These Are Not Your Dreams, Australian post-rock trio Sleepmakeswaves threw caution to the wind. Swerving producers and deadlines, they did things on their own terms. For a band that guitarist Otto Wicks-Green says are “always learning”, that process left them with plenty to consider for its follow-up.
Multi-instrumentalist Alex Wilson traces the record’s origins back to the global shutdown that resulted in a wealth of material, which the band will continue to work through in the years ahead.
“We were suited to being confined to our home studios,” says Wilson today. “We wrote close to two hours’ worth of material during that period.”