Speaking English

posted in: Artist Features • Rock

When you’re signed to a major label (Geffen) fresh out of high school and have a celebrity manager to boot (Joe Simpson), some would say you’ve made it. But for Barefoot frontman Chris Pearson, this was only the preface to the story. After parting ways with Geffen and Simpson, Pearson disbanded Barefoot and began a new project called Sleeperstar. This time around, he directed his focus across the pond, drawing on bands like U2 and Coldplay. The result is a collection of emotive, atmospheric Britrock that sinks its sizeable hooks into your heart. Disengage is arguably the band’s strongest track ”a clamant piano ballad with layers of guitars spurring the melody on to epic heights. In Journey the percussive keen of guitars against pounding drums maintains the urgency, but at a tempo more suited for a slow dance. And, if that’s too fast for your liking, try ˜Texas Rain, a pensive piano lament meant for solitary introspection that tugs at the heartstrings like one of those Keane songs. For a group of boys from Texas, their English is pretty flawless.