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13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sleep When I'm Dead, July 15, 2008
Third in a series of four singles heralding the release of The Cure's yet-untitled 13th album, Sleep When I'm Dead is another strong showing from a band who have proven their consistency over the course of nearly 30 years. When I first heard a 30 second clip of the song on the band's website, I was slightly horrified, as the song seemed to incessantly repeat the refrain "I'll sleep when I'm dead you angels, I'll sleep when I'm dead I said." The good news is that there's a lot more to the full song than that petite clip, and in the presence of the swirling wah pedal guitar and the driving rhythm, the lyrics take on a darker, more immediate appeal.
Sleep When I'm Dead is the third different sound we've heard from the band as part of this singles blitzkrieg. The Only One was a lovely little slice of pop, Freakshow a quick burst of blistering funk, and the latest reaches a gothic sound that the band hasn't achieved since the early 90's. Not only is the single itself excellent, but this disc is also sporting the best of the three b-sides to be released so far. Down Under is a gorgeous ditty with the fuzzy warmth of earlier pop recordings by the band. Robert's vocals echo around a bright piano and guitar combo, the lyrics yet again lending themselves a very sexual interpretation. This is a great b-side on a great single, and a must-have for Cure collectors.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
not the best, but still good, July 26, 2008
First of all, i love all the people ripping this song and saying that the cure are done for, that they are too old.whatever, they must have not listened to the same disc i did then.
Sleep When Im Dead - this is not the best single song so far (freakshow is underrated due to not being that great live), but it grows on you like ivy to an old house not being kept up. The repeative lines of "sleep when im dead, you angels" drags the song down a little but it has a decent groove to it and after a couple of listens u are bobbing your head and pounding your hand on the steering wheel of your car to the bass/drum line.
Down Under- another great b-side from a band that could have a hit album with just b-sides. This song is not as wah-wah pedal as all kinds of stuff but somewhat similar. Definetly alot like something from Wish album. The lyrics are actually better here than on Sleep when im dead.
Verdict- This is worth it, trust me, especially if u have purchased any of the other singles. If you havent then i would recommend starting with Freakshow or The Perfect Boy (which is coming out August 13th and prolly the best song coming out). Sleep when im dead is the weakest of the singles but dont lose faith in the new album, i think this is going to be a big surpise hit of 2008/2009.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not sleep-inducing, at least!, July 26, 2008
Of all the new released singles by The Cure, Sleep When I'm Dead is the most lackluster, in my mind. I really really like the somewhat derivative-but-still-charming The Only One, and I love the post-punk funk of Freakshow.
But this isn't to imply that Sleep is a bad song at all. It's just that, to my ears, it's the least inspired single lyrically and structurally. The high-pitched vocals are delivered with potent urgency, which gives fire to the song, and the rhythmic throb lends the tune an almost dark wave/disco feel. And of course, Porl's wah guitar is again fiercely prominent.
Some people have lamented that the studio version of Sleep When I'm Dead is rather inert, and does not match the raw energy of the live song. But I prefer the studio version because it is more dreamily textured. I like the paradox of sounds - the ethereal vocals melting within a cauldron of guitars and percussion. Interestingly, but certainly not crucially, the original song is an actual relic from the "Head on the Door" sessions. And indeed, it does sound a bit like Head's "Baby Screams" meshed with Kiss Me's "Torture." But let's not dwell on comparisons - a rather sloppy tactic of the unimaginative.
Lyrically, the song is a mixture of comical surrealism (childlike references to animals abound) and snooze-inducing banality ("take one for the team"). There are, however, a few interesting lines, such as "THAT'S A GREEN EYED PANIC CLIMB TO THE EDGE OF NOWHERE," the weird sense of which could have been exploited more throughout the song, to give eager lyric-dissectors more tools to work with. However, I can appreciate that the lyrics likely have more import that I am able to discern at this point.
Despite my reservations, Sleep When I'm Dead is a savory, mercurial song that begs to be turned up to illegal levels to absorb its full impact.
B-side Down Under is the second best song of the entire batch, in my assessment (Freakshow b-side All Kinds of Stuff being the best). It is dreamily remiscent of Wish b-sides like This Twilight Garden. Texturally, the song almost sounds like it's imitating the lyrical content, which involves the sea somehow - either symbolically or otherwise. The song is practically "drowned in sound" - swimming amidst a guitar mimicking sea-creature sounds, and floating bass-lines. It's really the most complex of all the songs, musically and lyrically. The lyrics are likely sexual in nature, although compulsive analysis has yet to confirm this. Lines like, "Disguise the stroke/entice them out/call out their number" are highly evocative, and perhaps the song truly is about an incident of "aqua-erotica." But the lyrics are opaque enough in other areas as to defy tidy deconstruction. Or perhaps I lack discernment. Anything is possible, really.
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