Like Feed Her to the Sharks, Karpenter will appeal largely to people who grew up during that period mentioned above and were steeped in the type of music that influenced what’s on display here. Every song, save a decent introductory synth and guitar piece, is structured as a typical rock song, ending before the four-minute mark eight out of ten times and virtually always before five. For better or for worse, this is musical candy – it doesn’t exactly have a ton of substance, gets sugary and predictable fairly quickly, but in the right circumstances is nonetheless enjoyable. Whether one has the will or patience to give the modest thirty-five minutes of Sleepless their attention depends entirely on how hungry they are for Karpenter’s brand of musical candy. For what it’s worth, the shell is crunchy and modern, courtesy of a quintessential Jacob Hansen production.
As mentioned, the songs here follow a pattern quickly established. The fun and simple “Shark” has a little intro with a Jaws sample, but in reality that doesn’t do much save fill space – it’s too short to have any legitimate impact and you know exactly what’s coming afterwards because by this point you’re nearly halfway through Sleepless. What’s coming is a chorus with a lead melody that’ll remind you of In Flames and/or Soilwork in the mid-late aughts, with the vocals performing a subservient melody which doesn’t distract from the guitars. I like “The Hardest Party,” but it only stands out from the other songs because the melody in its requisite spot appeals to me slightly more than others. Once the happy nostalgia is put aside, what’s left is predictable, decent songs that don’t elevate themselves into big, popular metal hits like their influences did, but not for lack of trying. On the strength of Sleepless, I could see Karpenter on a bill with Ice Nine Kills or some similar band. What I can’t see is a record of lasting impact and import.
As someone in the particular niche Sleepless sounds like it caters to, I can see myself returning to it now and again. It’s fun for what it is, but even at thirty-five minutes it can begin to grow a bit stale before it concludes. While thirty-five minutes is a properly concise length for a record, there’s a difference between eating a ten-ounce steak and eating ten ounces of gummy worms, and Karpenter represents the latter. Nevertheless, I still like Sleepless. If I wasn’t reviewing this, I wouldn’t have thought nearly so hard about it. Instead, I would’ve just enjoyed the little nostalgia trip for what it was, moved on, and maybe returned later. This isn’t a record which lends itself to thinking anyway – you put it on, turn it up, and let the agreeable, consonant, and fun sounds wash over you when the mood strikes. Perhaps that’s why this review proved difficult to write – instead of just enjoying the musical candy, I had to go and try to explain what a “blue raspberry” tastes like and why I occasionally like it.
Rating: 2.5/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps MP3
Label: Rockshots Records
Websites: karpenter-band.it | facebook.com/karpenterband
Releases Worldwide: May 28th, 2021