Reviews + Articles + Interviews

"THE FURIOUS SLEEP have a new self released four track EP called Funeral Marches, The Furious Sleep are from Cambridge. The Furious Sleep don't do much verse chorus blah de blah, and that's a very good thing. Their songs ramble, tell stories, go somewhere, show you the details. Very few bands are as generous with their ideas. This is stripped down, simple in-your-room guitars and drums and a little keyboards and a natural, honest, on the edge of raw voice. Death's Head March has so many thematic changes I lost count; therefore it is progressive rock, but none of the prog idioms of production apply here, whether old-school moog n' mellotron lushness, jazzy englishness or the avant and heavy approaches. Nope, The Furious Sleep are on the verge of uniqueness, having more in common with obscure UK bands like Zag And The Coloured Beads, Gawd's Bleeding Gift than anyone else, (save maybe Les Savy Fav): a combination of slightly abrasive English indie-ness and untampered-with production with thoughtful complexity. It's not really metal, or punk, it's something on its own, proper art rock (rather than the pub rock that seems to be determined to appropriate the term these days) and the complexity is all about changing melody and mood than math for math's sake. Powerful though, and held together by a gut-spilling emotional (without descending into emo mush) singer songwriter, lyrics to chew over at leisure. Their previous album was less raw, fuller-sounding; unavailable in shops, both are worth the romance of hunting down." Organ Magazine. http://www.myspace.com/organ

"THE FURIOUS SLEEP - FUNERAL MARCHES Fabulous band name and an even better E.P title. Trying to describe the sound in itself is slightly more complicated. Like a quieter Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster but with Biffy Clyro weird clinky clonky guitars but then again not at the same time. It's a bit of shocker. They're the sort of band I'd love to sit with during one of their practices just to see what kind of thought process they go through. Myself, I'm fairly bland when it comes to trying to write something and I'd give my right bollock to be able to approach a song in the way this band seems to. It's not going to be to everyone's taste and thank fuck for that. The first track 'Death's Head March' travels in a way very much akin to how I imagine a cold turkey nightmare must do and given that it's far too expensive for me to start a heroin habit, I'm thankful for bands like this who give my imagination all the stimulation it needs. It has somewhat bittersweet yet violent side to it, typified by 'Lights Out' but also a melancholic sensitivity which is show to us briefly on the untitled third track and then leading into the starkly titled song 'The Room'. Generally, this record is the sound of boredom mixed with an unhealthy obsession with comedy funerals or indeed, a serious funeral where someone has spraypainted 'massive cock otter' on the side of the coffin. The fun thing to do of course is imagine someone's funeral soundtracked by this record and given that I generally find funerals somewhat amusing anyway, this would have me sent directly to hell. I'd keep an eye on this band. They'd no doubt be a John Peel favourite if the crazy bastard was still around to appreciate them. The cover art is pretty impressive as well. Always a bonus." Richey Peaches for Repeat Fanzine. http://www.repeatfanzine.co.uk

"Cambridge four-piece, The Furious Sleep, are not like anything you will have heard of before. The punk/prog band’s latest effort is an unique attempt to try and take on the over-produce and populist pop music culture in Britain at the moment. Funeral Marches is the product of a band that don’t really fit in anywhere, they’re like the weird person at the party who talks to the plants. Open minds are a must to fully appreciate The Furious Sleep’s quirkiness, this is not verse-chorus-verse album, it’s veritable trip into the subconscious." Robb Langston for Music Zine. http://www.music-zine.com

"They're a fucking curious proposition alright, coming on like nocore post-proggers The Murder Of Rosa Luxemburg battering Les Savy Fav to death with a posh Cambridge accent. Its charismatic, technicolour and gives a great name to experimentalism. This lot are deservedly going places for sure." 44 Caliber Webzine. http://www.ptjsm.karoo.net/44caliber/mainpage.htm

"The Furious Sleep - Funeral Marches (EP) I've reviewed this lot before, and I still think of Fugazi everytime that I hear them. The Furious Sleep are unpredictable in their song-writing and a lot of what they do seems to start and stop without warning - I can hear a hint of Crass, towards the end of their career. I love Jake's lyrics, as always which come across as heartfelt poetry - He is at his best on this EP. This band are not easy to review, as there is so much going on. Comparisons are hard to find, which is a compliment to them." Positive Creed Fanzine. 17a Charnley Ave, St Thomas, Exeter, Devon, EX4 1RD (50p + 50p SAE)

"The artwork for this curious 4 track EP is amazing, and musically we have something that harks back to the glory days of emo in the mid 90's, very much English sounding and quite raw, reminding me of Nub, Baby Harp Seal, Mineral and the quirk of Joeyfat. Light on the amount of notes used and quite sparce sounding at times, and then jerky, sharp and angular sounding at others with a mostly raucous vocal speech over the top. This is pretty good, and 'The room' shows The Furious Sleep in a quieter, Mercury Rev-esque light, only I don't think they expand enough on the atmosphere and could have layered up tons of ambience and swirling noises to increase the drama of the song. Still, decent stuff, but the artwork is the highlight of the cd." Paul Raw Nerve. http://www.rawnervepromotions.co.uk/

"I'll also mention The Furious Sleep, as they were goodly enough to send me their Funeral Marches CD. These guys make a sound that borrows from the more avant garde Dischord stuff, with angular guitars and a screamed/sung vocal assault. But overall its far too clever clever and self indulgent for me. If you think the idea of a prog rock emo jazz band is a good idea, then you should check these guys out - and you should also promise to never, ever, make me a compilation tape. Ever." Chris of The Marlings. http://www.myspace.com/chrismarling

"Highly unpredictable and origional, this has a hint of Fugazi and folk about it. Tough to nail down, in the same way that Spizzenergy were. This is not your everyday album! The stand out feature is singer, Jake Dyer, good to hear he took his powerfuk larynx with him when Absolute Zeros decided to hang up their Doc Martens! Pretty damn good on the whole." Positive Creed Fanzine. 17a Charnley Ave, St Thomas, Exeter, Devon, EX4 1RD (50p + A5 SAE)

"Email interview carried out in February 2006. Read it here." Interview by Anna Claxton for Repeat Fanzine. http://www.repeatfanzine.co.uk/

"Edgy rock group The Furious sleep (who feature on Smalltown America's Public Broadcast) played music compounding punk and prog genres. It's impossible to tell how many songs they played, but it could have been anything between four and thirty four. They played angry sounds with their eyes closed, thus appearing both furious and asleep (see what I did there?!) which I found utterly hilarious at the time (I was drunk)." La Dolly Vita. http://el-houghton.livejournal.com/

"Free CD from Cambridge band TRIPS out to find roadkill and a stay in the wilds of Norfolk have resulted in a new CD by The Furious Sleep. The Cambridge rockers headed to the middle of nowhere to record a three-track release called Funeral Marches. As the finished product will cost you zero pounds, you've got no excuses not to get a copy. The songs are complex, punky attacks which are backed up with artwork featuring a lot of dead creatures - but it's all done in the best possible taste, obviously. "We wanted to use a picture of a dead crow so we went out looking for roadkill, but nothing we found was satisfactory," laments Jake, the band's singer. "So, we went to the zoological museum and took lots of pictures of stuffed things." The band set about their recording duties at the highly-respected Sickroom studio, a tiny backroom covered in posters and kitted out with a dazzling array of equipment - it even has table tennis facilities. "There were no distractions," says Jake. "It was really good because it was just the four of us hanging out. The nearest shop was two miles away and we couldn't get any good phone reception. "We wanted to record some new songs that would get across what we do live. Owen the producer really understood what we were trying to do and got the best out of us. Death's Head March is a bit of a twin guitar epic, Lights Out is our rocker and The Room is a lo-fi acoustic song with a really distorted keyboard and vocal harmonies." If you want to have a listen, visit www.thefurioussleep.com" Cambridge Evening News. http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk

"Trying to put these guys’ music into a nice neat description is also a hard task… but they are prog-rock-punk-mangled-new age-craziness. The reason for the crazy bit, is that their set drove me a bit crazy by constantly alternating the time signatures in one particular song, to the point of not knowing whether there was any structure to it at all, only to reach normality at the end. Their song, “Quilty”, is such a song, leaving my mind slightly confused as to how they could all remember this unconventional structure. TFS’s drummer, Matt, showed immense skill throughout the night, but amazed me most during the mind altering Quilty. Tofu Escape Clause was their ending song of the night, starting with the beautiful riff supplied by Dave (guitarist), joined by Tom on bass, along with matt, turning into a funky organ solo (Tom) carrying on to a heavier meatier version of the beginning riff. It is at least a good 3 minutes into the song when Jake’s very English strong singing starts. The song lasted a good 7-8mins long, blasting the ear drums of everyone by the end of their dramatic last song. The audience gave them the much deserved applause, showing that it wasn’t only me who liked the prog-rock-punk-mangled-new age-craziness they brought to confuse the senses. Two words: odd shirts" Cambridge Bands Review Forum. http://www.cambridgebands.com/

"They used to be The Visit and they made a couple of demos and we liked them we saw them live and they rocked hard and we interviewed them and then they became The Furious Sleep and they made a couple of demos and we liked them too and we asked them play live for us and they did and they were great again. And then they went and made an album and they sensibly decided to keep it to seven tracks and around 40 minutes and we like it on CD but, to be honest, we wish it was on vinyl and on 70s Elektra with a psychedelically foggy photo of the band in big flares and tight shirts with cravats on the cover and we'd just bought it in a charity shop and it had dog-eared corners and ring-wear but the record itself was pristine and we were playing it for the first time and it was blowing us away. And if we can't have that then we'll just have to dream while the CD plays." Robots and Electronic Brains. http://www.robotsandelectronicbrains.co.uk

"The Furious Sleep - A rather different set of very English twists and turns (from Cambridge). Clever acoustic/scratchy electric jousting and shouting and try if you will to imagine a shouty (but not too shouty) angry (but not too angry) Friends In Battledress. Songs that twists and turns and rushes along with a furious sense of belong and a need to tear the shirt from your shoulders. Rather fine artwork as well, rather inspiring. The Furious Sleep sound like no one else – kind of scratchy acoustic prog rock that dashes in to completely different playing fields. They should probably opening for Cardiacs, they’d fit well and the pond would froth. We like this lots." Organ Magazine. http://www.organart.com/

PSB#4 "what do you get? twenty-three tracks of varying quality, but none that ever dip below average; for the money you can't do better. highlights are staggered, admittedly but oxford collapse's opening for buds, not boston is a prickly alt-punk number that clatters and crashes as if it'd emerged from the Load Records stable; the furious sleep reinvent prog for the post-punk generation; and the excellently named School for the dead offer bittersweet pop that's catchier than stds on university campus. certain tracks do pass by without making the merest impression, but the great thing about this series is, whatever your particular tastes, there's always something a few minutes ahead that's going to impress you. Roll on episode five." Comes With A Smile #16. http://cwas.hinah.com/news/

"The Furious Sleep are very British. An unusual little musical island amidst the near-Americanised rest of the world, completely giving the finger to punk-rock convention through their general favour of acoustic guitars and taking changing time signatures to a ridiculous level, they have emerged with a collection of songs so steeped in originality that, at first, it had me wanting to break something immediately. Namely the CD. Usually not a fan of something too utterly over-complicated for me to understand and, more importantly, so undanceable, I did, however, resist the temptation, thankfully to discover the gems on this debut album. "Quilty" displays the band at what they do best, fighting between good and evil and wrestling with their consciences by swerving from angelic vocals and melodic bliss to all-out screaming chaos in the well-calculated strum of a chord. Alongside other stand-out tracks, the tangled mess of "Warmer Climes" and the epic favourite "Tofu Escape Clause", whilst this is more like a clever and intricate piece of theatre than a catchy toe-tapping masterpiece, The Furious Sleep are, regardless, to be admired as they take this small step for Cambridge musicians, and a large step for indie-fans everywhere. Take from it what you will, but you will take something." Anna Claxton for REPEAT fanzine. http://www.repeatfanzine.co.uk/

"To say that prog upstarts The Furious Sleep’s eponymous debut long-player is awash with invention is somewhat misleading. To those that have never heard a record crafted before 1975, this will sound like the future. To those that fondly recall prog’s heyday, it’ll resonate like an echo from a time forgotten by all but Word magazine, whose feature on Yes t’other month was one of the best articles I’ve read of late. It also, conveniently, put me in the right frame of mind for this. By contemporary standards, ‘The Furious Sleep’ is blissfully unconventional. Songs possess no rigid structures; there are no adhered-to rules here (if there were, one feels that the band would break them come each song’s climax). The approach makes for a playful, if not totally coherent record (certain songs meander for rather too long) that bridges the punk-prog divide fairly successfully – the way that vocals switch mid-song from crystal-clear tones to gruff, almost Hot Water Music-like roars adds to the spirit of adventure contained herein. It’s admirable that a new band is looking backwards – further back than predictable Ramones-style garage punk – to move forward, and The Furious Sleep should be able to look forward to relative success in the not-too-distant future. After all, to some they’re already soundtracking it." Drowned in Sound webzine. http://www.drownedinsound.com/

"Of Kith and Kin" starts off with some great acoustic chord progressions, and an odd vocal, quite possibly prog-rock influenced, and suddenly goes off into a very different, theatrical, almost operatic in delivery style piece. No drums, just bass, guitars and strange voices, coming out from all angles. Quite dramatic though, and with the aide of a very crisp production and some lovely notation, this is a very interesting and very different sort of song. Following this is "The Mallard", which introduces minimal rhythms, and reminds me of a mix between The Cure, Weezer and various era Pavement. "Quilty" continues the strangeness, throwing in some very off kilter rhythms, for those who know Joeyfat, Nub and Tribute, you may get an inkling into the sound of this one. Of the remaining songs, "Among the Wolves" is the one that really stands out, following on from the footsteps left in random shapes in the snow by "Quilty", this one also has a very early 90's emo rock feel to it, with a certain air of Fugazi thrown in for good measure. More good acoustics and light rhythms close things during "Tofu Escape Clause". A very peculiar recording here, but intriguing in the same breath." Raw Nerve fanzine. http://www.rawnervepromotions.co.uk

"Acoustic guitars, indie band vocals and occasional jams and screaming. It’s a great combination and a truly original band waiting to happen with some tweaking. Cambridge hopefuls The Furious Sleep’s debut is constantly fascinating but sometimes fidgety and difficult to love. Bad memories of the weaker tracks, however, are abolished as soon as a punk-tinged classic like Quilty or the fine closer Tofu Escape Clause comes along. Here, all of The Furious Sleep’s great ideas come together with the welcome addition of a memorable melody and a driving rhythm. Acoustic Marr-esque guitar glides effortlessly into Fugazi wails and suddenly they become special. This 7-track sampler shows plenty of promise, it’s just scattered slightly. With age, the formula will be perfected, the songs will become less forgettable and The Furious Sleep will burst onto the radar. On the strength of this debut’s best songs, that might happen sooner than you think". God is in the TV fanzine. http://www.godisinthetv.envy.nu

"I’m always slightly concerned when a band that gives such a full on all-or-nothing live performance decides to transfer their unique talent to CD, and get music techies to fiddle around with their natural sound. Too much tweaking, more bass here, less guitar there often seems to strip away the energy and genuinity of music. And The Furious Sleep definitely isn’t a band whose intention is to provide a fully polished, chord-perfect performance. In fact, fuck preciseness, it’s all about passion with these guys. Having said that, their new album gives all this and more. It’s not been over-refined and the meaning of what they want to get across, the reason they make music is very apparent. They are one of those rare bands I feel who aren’t afraid to make the kind of music they want to make for fear of being judged or conforming to more traditional stuff. Their sound resembles an intere sting and diverse blend of up-tempo, down-tempo, calm, angry, crazy thrashing guitars and keyboard (okay, so I’m no music critic but this is the best way to describe them). And then there’s lots of shouting with tuneful intermissions, letting us know they can be tranquil and controlled when necessary. Quilty has to be one of my favorites mainly cause I think a healthy dose of heavy rocking guitars has something to offer to every good song. And the mighty Tofu Escape Clause should be a classic by now, you’ll be humming it for days!! Cambridge’s band scene is undisputedly a better place for their efforts and this is a must-have album to add to your collection". Alternataion Music. http://www.alternationmusic.com

"Tonight The Furious Sleep were on fire, together and loving it, like scouts who've been caught smoking dope in the woods on camp. It's so good to see a band who are so ganglike, this is how rock should be, my gang versus your gang and my brother's bigger than yours and let's meet on the tennis courts after for a Crossroads-style rock-off (I'm not talking about Jane Asher here). These boys play longer and harder songs with more fiddly bits than your average rock 'n' roll bear, and with a truer fervour of passion too. They have studied their rock (I've seen their CVs) and united the brutality of punk with the bombast of prog.Yes! Together at last! The poles are reconciled. Bet old John Lydon is turning in his jungle bunk. Dave is a phenomenal guitarist, surprising on the fret board. His fingers strutting and arrogant, his licks jump around corners, like little demons catapulting you from chimerical Cambridge idyll to Hammer Horror in a single flick of the wrist. Akin to Dr Who, it is the the cosiness of the scene being invaded by the unknown that is so unsettling and makes the songs so satisfying. Jake's vocals are raw and angry, he must need shitloads of cough medicine, but his falsetto in Headaches for Heartaches is pure and makes me grin with delight, I wish he'd use it more. He regales us with stories of a werewolf eating its boss, the theft of a tofu sandwich and of how, when they set of for Stoke, they could hear a buzzing noise. They searched for nigh on half an hour only to discover it was Jake's electric toothbrush. Here is a band who are loud and graceful, personable and rough: together they are wild stallions! ". Robots and Electronic Brains. http://come.to/robots

"The hackneyed cliché that you only get twenty seconds (if that) to impress is true, and more than one demo has gone straight into the round filing cabinet in the corner after less than ten seconds. Being as raw and rough as they are, you’d think that Cambridge’s The Furious Sleep would have gone the same way, except there’s something here that nags. Maybe it’s the Syd Barrett-esque flights of acoustic fancy, maybe it’s the lilting melodies, reminiscent of Ooberman had they grown up in Sixties’ Hackney. In truth, I don’t now what it is. Nor can I explain the effect of what sounds more like a good rehearsal tape; I just know that something here works, and I definitely want to hear more". Logo Magazine. http://www.logo-magazine.com/

"This is a three track effort of diverse emo punk pulling together quite a wide range of variation. The slower moments remind me of the The Velvet Underground with the faster parts hinting towards Fugazi. This c.d. works well and maybe doesn't fall easily into the punk rock genre when you hear it. With so many up and coming bands out there today, this lot are certainly heading towards a new area of sound that nobody has yet discovered". Rob Stone, Positive Creed Fanzine. 17a Charnley Ave, St Thomas, Exeter, Devon, EX4 1RD (50p + A5 SAE)

"Intact Skylines: This 3 song EP shows what the The Furious Sleep are about: in your face rock and roll with overthrows of punk and noise rock. At times sounding strained and wired (which is a good thing). This contains amp buzz! Yes it goes to 11! With many excellent riffs that Jimmy Page would be proud of and intelligent lyrics too, this EP is a really great introduction to TFS. If you take Led Zeppelin, and add a little more punk, add a little more lo-fi rock/garage and remove Robert Plant, but add a little more Crazy Horse, you might be somewhere near TFS!".

"Serbian Spring: A very rough sounding live sound, reminiscent of many garage recordings from the late 1960s. This is The Furious Sleep at their most raw. Loud guitars and pounding drums bringing a heavy sound not displayed on the previous EP 'Intact Skylines'. If you dig Velvet Underground, MC5 and The Stooges, I am sure you will fine something within this that you will connect with". Simon Loynes, Harvest Time. http://www.freewebs.com/harvest-time/

"The Furious Sleep are one of those baffling bands who are so into doing their own thing that it has taken them far enough away from everyone else’s thing to be rather unfamiliar when it returns. There were times during their set when it sounded like they had given up performing anything quite so mundane as music and had instead decided to go straight for the mathematical formulas and equations that lie beneath. During others, they sounded like they were all playing their own parts slightly out of phase with each other, only to come briefly back into sync for a beautiful chorus or verse before slipping away again. And that’s the point, really. Whilst TFS’s technical ability and unconventional approach to songwriting are undoubtedly impressive, it was the more conventional bits that were the most enjoyable. Which does make you wonder. If they could mould that different approach into something that sounded less like maths, then the world would undoubtedly be theirs for the taking". Yalson, Gigs In Bury. http://www.ionicuk.co.uk/gigsinbury/

"It’s Tofu Escape Clause. Seven minutes long. Bliss. Drums hit harder than any since Keith Moon. Hypnotic. Tune, no tune, tune, noise. Yesssss. This is why I’m here. Complex and simple, it’s going to be labelled post-rock but it’s different and better because the singer isn’t buried in the mix, a last-minute short-straw addition. And Tofu is a song. A song written by a singer who knows this backing is the bulldog’s bollocks. A song teased out and remodelled and twisted and pushed and pulled and played over and over and over and tautened and stretched and soon to be a 20 minute epic and it’ll still be fucking brilliant. The only way they could have topped Tofu was to play Silence The Poet next. They did. I melted. "

"Terrible title. Terrible first track. Terribly sorry, fellas.. But then Silence The Poet kicks off. It's a yearning surge of melodic post (yes!) rock (yes!) with a real song threaded deep into its weft. Direct, purposeful, meaningful and over in under 4 minutes. The Furious Sleep can come again." Jimmy Possession, Robots and Electronic Brains. http://come.to/robots

"Very competent left field guitar based noise pop from Cambridge. I particularly liked the guitar playing, which is expressive without being at all wanky. The Furious Sleep are very attention grabbing live. I want more urgency, and more extreme extremes."

"TFS live are an urgent, unsettling proposition. The performance is gripping, and the sound original and hard hitting… try and see them live." Repeat Fanzine. http://www.repeatfanzine.co.uk

"The Furious Sleep are "a punk Smiths" and combine Mick Ronson guitars with epic tunes and shouty passionate vocals". Jason TSH, Planet Beet. http://www.planetbeet.tk/

"Led Zep goes millennial indie", is the best description I can come up with for this Cambridge based band. There is a definite 70's rock thing going on with the guitar and, as expected, both of these EP's showcase some good riffs and memorable lyrics (particularly EP2's "Silence The Poet"). Nothing here is especially catchy, but you find the songs grow on you with each listen. These were the band's first two releases and from the overall standard of the tracks on them, it's not a bad start at all. Ten Second Warning Fanzine http://www.tensecondwarning.co.uk

"thankfully, local band The Furious Sleep opened, who were quite charming with their brand of wonky pub rock (and at least three songs about cocks). they were the perfect band to play first at a gig like this, it's just a shame six by seven didn't feel like finishing the job." Ollie, the link master, Diskant Network. http://www.diskant.net

"The Furious Sleep are Cambridge's prog-punk-jazz-new wave meisters with sharp lyricisms and a compelling stage presence". Green Mind Presents http://www.greenmind.tk

"They are a rock band à la AC/DC, à la Black Sabbath, à la The Spiders From Mars. They know how to have fun, how to throw TV's out of hotel windows, how to drink 40 vodkas and lime and survive, And they know how to hold a stage like a gang's den. Indie? Pah! Nu-metal? Crawl back under your rock! The Furious Sleep are the band to see; Rock And Roll is the life to live. And TFS are streets ahead of you". Vince Swift, posted on Repeat Message Board.