Sleep is the newest single from the South London based indie quartet Bleach Lab. Lead vocalist Jenna Kyle describes as “moody, dreamy and introspective”.
Rating: 4/5
Just as the title suggests, Sleep is a dreamy, ambient indie-pop tune which was released on June, 30th. The lyrics are soothing, giving an ethereal vibe. They offer a hazy rumination on a feeling of opening your eyes to a bad relationship – like a bad dream.
“At its core, Sleep tells a story about the breakdown of a long term relationship. The thought processes that you may follow as you begin to emotionally remove yourself from it,” says vocalist Jenna Kyle. “It’s based around the idea that you can put everything you have into someone. Ultimately, the outcome will never change if it isn’t meant to be.”
Bleach Lab hails from Buckinghamshire, establishing themselves as a force to be reckoned with. They’re conjuring spaced-out indie melodies alongside jangly guitars and layered instrumentals.
The song combines a dreamy, nostalgic feeling with a kind of peaceful melancholy, through both the instrumentals and Kyle’s vocals. Although the relationship is ending, Kyle explains: “Ultimately it wasn’t a toxic end. Rather a mutual understanding that despite being very much in love, something just isn’t working anymore. For that reason, I could happily say it was deliberately made to be quite gentle and peaceful.”
Sleep was initially written in 2019, following ‘Heartache of The Season’ and ‘Burnt Orange’. Bleach Lab’s third release to date.
On discussing the single, Bassist Josh Longman says it was “organically” created and “came together very quickly”. Kyle confirms this. She says that her favourite thing about creating the song was how quickly it came together – it was written in a day!
“When you’re all on the same page and you get a buzz that you’re creating something you all really like the sound of and then the lyrics usually flow very easily,” says the band vocalist. This definitely comes across in the song, as it produces such an effortless and beautiful sound – it’s an indie tune perfect for summer evenings.
Kyle says her favourite lyric is: ‘You can spend your life swimming through the tide, let the world pass by, I only wanna be by your side.’ “For me, these lyrics describe perfectly how I felt during that time. I felt like a lot of my time was being wasted just gliding along not doing very much. It didn’t seem to matter what I did because nothing ever changed until it was over.”
Sleep is like one of those songs that are played at the end of a coming of age film. The character realises who they are, and are content with their lives. Because that’s what the song does to its listener – it’s a reflective, yet uplifting song focusing on doing something for you and removing yourself from a negative place.
Click here to listen to Sleep by Bleach Lab.