Scottish Albums of the Decade #11: Aereogramme – Sleep and Release

Another forward-thinking head-scratcher from the vaults of Chemikal Underground, Sleep and Release elicited genre-bending sloganeering like ‘dream metal’ and ‘post-pop’ as critics fumbled to characterise what it was that Aereogramme were doing so well. But hubris didn’t matter when the Glasgow quartet were already climbing into various ears via John Peel sessions and support slots with everybody from Rollins Band to Rilo Kiley on either side of the Atlantic.

Aereogramme's split in late 2007 saw to it that the band remains a cult concern, yet their trademark cinematic approach to songwriting – an ever-ebbing, flowing and crashing wave of keys, strings, riffs, blood-curdling screams and shimmering falsetto – assures their status as one of the more underrated musical treasures offered by these shores in the past decade. Here, frontman Craig B reflects on the writing, recording, release and aftermath of their second album.

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How do you feel about Sleep and Release when you listen back to it now?
We tried to make it as dynamic as we possibly could and it turned out to be quite an intense and layered album, especially with all the segues. It doesn’t really let you rest and take anything in until it’s all over. I’m incredibly proud of it but I’m not surprised we didn’t bother the charts. It’s not an easy listen.

Did you take away any important lessons from making that particular record?
Maybe we should have, but we didn’t. I think we were a bit disappointed with the reaction we got. With Sleep and Release, we thought we had recorded something that was, at the very least, different to what was around at the time and yet it hardly made any impact at all. So we went in the musical equivalent of a huff. We followed it up with an even more diverse mini album (Seclusion) which made even less commercial sense than Sleep and Release.

Where was the band’s collective head directed when you made the album – was there anybody you particularly drew inspiration from or sought to emulate in some way?
We had done a fair bit of touring by that point and so we were playing well and had become a proper four piece. We started to collect loads of noises for the segues while on tour in America, so if you listen carefully you can hear a crazy preacher from the deep south, Nasa satellites, computer game references…The nature of touring puts you in a confined space with a strange routine for an unhealthy length of time, but I think we turned it to our advantage and started to plan the album with any spare time we had.

In terms of influence, we had always been fans of heavy music like Slayer, Will Haven, Neurosis but also quieter bands like Low, Red House Painters…so we didn’t see any problem with letting those different styles influence one album.

The all-out aggression in the song Wood set against the tranquility of the untitled swansong put me in mind of The God Machine – more specifically their second album – were you ever drawn to their charms?
I was very influenced by The God Machine, especially Scenes from the Second Storey. I was so excited by a band that could follow a song like Home with It’s All Over.

Did the problems you'd later have with your throat and voice ultimately push the band away from heavy music?
Yes and no. We had recorded the mini album (Seclusion) after Sleep and Release and that was us moving in a different direction anyway. By the time we got to My Heart Has a Wish… I just didn’t feel like screaming anymore. I think I wasn’t as angry by then and it would have felt slightly dishonest to continue trying to have screaming songs just for the sake of it. I mean, when I unfortunately stumble upon a Linkin Park song on the radio I can’t help but think that guy sounds like a dick. What’s he angry about now? Slayer at least still sound genuinely pissed off.

Since Aereogramme split, what have you come to consider the band's finest work?
That’s hard to answer. My favourite songs are spread across all the albums we did but I have a particular fondness for Sleep and Release because it has the heaviest song we ever did (Wood) and maybe the most personal (A Winter’s Discord) so I’m extremely happy that it’s been picked out by your paper.

What makes for an exceptional album in your book?
A great album that springs to mind is Jane Doe by Converge and what makes that album so great is the fact it’s diverse, inventive, emotionally involving and each song is consistently brilliant. It’s also only at the end of the album that you finally realise how it all makes sense and fits together and that is incredibly rewarding.