Broken Compass

2014 studio album by Sleepwave
Broken Compass
Studio album by
Sleepwave
ReleasedSeptember 16, 2014 (2014-09-16)
Recorded2014 @ The House Of Loud, Elmwood Park, NJ
Genre
  • Industrial metal[1]
  • alternative rock
  • post-hardcore
  • post-grunge
  • experimental rock
Length38:08
LabelEpitaph
ProducerDavid Bendeth

Broken Compass is the debut record from Sleepwave through Epitaph Records. This is also the first full release for lead singer Spencer Chamberlain since the breakup of his previous band Underoath, before they got back together.

Background

Chamberlain announced the formation of his new band in September 2013. The first track from the album was released on October of that year, "Rock And Roll Is Dead And So Am I". The album was produced by David Bendeth, whose credits include that of Bring Me the Horizon and Of Mice & Men. In an interview with Under the Gun Chamberlain said, "...I feel like when the record comes out things will change. Everyone that has supported us so far has been 100% in, they love what we’re up to. It’s something new, something fresh. It’s not me trying to relive my past or regurgitate something I’ve already done a million times."[2]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
HittheFloor
Under the Gun Review9/10[3]
Alternative Press

The album has been met with generally positive reviews. Jason Pettigrew of Alternative Press wrote, "There’s a certain kind of chrome-plated nostalgia at play on Broken Compass, one that hearkens back to the glory days of Alternative Nation, where bands like Smashing Pumpkins, Foo Fighters, Nine Inch Nails and Filter held court and garnered mass acclaim, but not at the expense of extracting their personalities from their art."[4] HittheFloor's Antoine Omisore had a more mixed review, "...‘Broken Compass,’ gets a little dreary whether it's through the shackled efforts of a Deftones esque ambience on ‘Hold Up My Head’ or the murky ‘Disgusted : Disguised’. It's almost as if they've taken track ‘Repeat Routine’ literally, with a large portion of songs sounding like an identikit of each other."[5]

The album was included at number 43 on Rock Sound's "Top 50 Albums of the Year" list.[6]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Paper Planes"3:07
2."Rock and Roll Is Dead and So Am I"3:35
3."Inner Body Revolt"3:26
4."The Wolf"3:18
5."Hold Up My Head"4:12
6."Whole Again"3:19
7."Disgusted : Disguised"3:30
8."Replace Me"2:43
9."Repeat Routine"3:12
10."Through the Looking Glass"3:35
11."Broken Compass"4:11
Total length:38:08

Personnel

Sleepwave
  • Spencer Chamberlain – vocals, Lyrics, guitars, keyboards, programming
  • Stephen Bowman – guitars, bass guitar, keyboards, programming
Additional musicians
  • Chris Kamrada – Drums
  • Greg Johnson – programming
Production
  • Produced by David Bendeth, 2014 @ The House Of Loud, Elmwood Park, NJ
  • Mixed by David Bendeth & Brian Robbins
  • Mastered by Ted Jensen @ Sterling Sound, New York
  • Digital editing & engineers: Mitch Milan, Brian Robbins & Steve Sarkassian
  • Additional composer (tracks: 4, 5, 8–10): John Bendeth
  • Artwork by Aaron Marsh & Sam Kaufman
  • Design by Sam Kaufman

References

Citations
  1. ^ "Broken Compass – Sleepwave | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic". AllMusic.
  2. ^ "UTG INTERVIEW: Sleepwave's Spencer Chamberlain Talks 'Broken Compass' | Under the Gun Review". Archived from the original on 2014-09-19. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  3. ^ "REVIEW: Sleepwave – 'Broken Compass' | Under the Gun Review". Archived from the original on 2014-09-16. Retrieved 2014-09-21.
  4. ^ "Sleepwave – Broken Compass". Alternative Press. 15 September 2014.
  5. ^ "Sleepwave – Broken Compass | Album Review – HTF Magazine". 15 September 2014.
  6. ^ Bird, ed. 2015, p. 23
Sources
  • Bird, Ryan, ed. (January 2015). "Top 50 Albums of the Year". Rock Sound (195). London: Freeway Press Inc. ISSN 1465-0185.
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
  • MusicBrainz release group