#9. Sleeping With Sirens - Leave It All Behind
One of the more surprising entries to this year's list, Sleeping With Sirens join a long list of Sumerian Records alums to reach the top 10. The Orlando based quartet has been kicking it for over 10 years now and had a top 10 release back in 2013, but they never really had a sound that I cared for. Perhaps it was singer Kellin Quinn's high tenor pitch that scratched my ears wrong. They've switched musical gears a few times between now and then, and they've gotten away from juvenile songwriting antics that plagued them int heir younger years. Perhaps it was signing to a heavier label that caused their most recent shift, but the band managed to write an extremely poignant album about not letting the demons of this world get you down. Other favorite's from the disc include "Another Nightmare" and "Medicine (Devil In My Head)".
"Leave It All Behind" starts innocently enough with a drum machine-esque kick and a scratchy guitar before the rest of the group jumps in. Musically the song is one of the strongest ones on the record, but it is again Quinn's voice that manages to both excite and annoy. Initially I had passed over this song when I first heard it but the lyrical content kept me coming back until it was firmly entrenched on my long drives to work early in the morning. The song is about fighting the demons that are screaming at you to end your life. I don't suppose there could be a more relevant song for me in 2019. In listening to the rest of How It Feels To Be Lost I found that to be a common lyrical theme, which only made me appreciate the band even more. The music video has Quinn walking through an abandoned hotel while singing, and then jumping out a window to his "death", only to be reborn with the rest of his band-mates playing in a dark underground room.
It really wouldn't be a Top 20 Countdown without songs that touch on mental health issues. More and more we see bands exploring these topics, and hopefully finding ways to reach fans who are struggling.
Favorite Line: ""But I won't quit on the people I love, so I'll say I'm fine until the day I see the fucking light"
Title: Leave It All Behind
Artist: Sleeping With Sirens
Album: How It Feels To Be Lost
Previous #9s
2018: mind.in.a.box - Attack
2017: Bebe Rexha - The Way I Are (Dance With Somebody)
2016: Bleached - Wednesday Night Melody
2015: TV On The Radio - Careful You
2014: Aurelio Voltaire - Captains All
2013: Deadlock - The Arsonist
2012: Of Monsters and Men - Little Talks
2011: The Limousines - Internet Killed The Video Star
2010: Dan Black - Symphonies
2009: The Killer and the Star - Living With Musicians
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