Less than a year after their smashing debut EP running with the dogs, Melbourne’s sleepazoid return with a follow-up that’s evolved in all the right places: the hooks are more immediate, the lyrics tighter and smarter, and the music leans heavier while maintaining the pop sensibilities that made early tracks like RATS and CHOMP so appealing.
One of the band’s greatest strengths is their lyricism. There’s genuine, unabridged storytelling in these songs that don’t require the stretching of syllables, abstractions or unnecessary words—you could easily peel away the music and reveal perfectly constructed narratives that wouldn’t seem out of place on the bookshelf. What’s better is the track sequencing adds real value as a deeper narrative becomes clear. Opener 3AM sets up a deep longing for someone at a house party, as the narrator falls helplessly in love; the next track is a fierce declaration of moving on and leaving that person behind; FIG TREE then questions if love ever truly fades away, in an almost regretful package.
My personal favourite, FIG TREE starts with the delicate whispers of frontwoman Nette France atop a dreamy, desolate soundscape, as she ponders, “when you feel love, does it ever go away, or does it just change?”, a seemingly simple question that crushed me on first listen, especially in the way it comes right after the thrashing, careless strut of NEW AGE. Very quickly, the band’s lonely strumming evolves with an incredible tension build from all five members. Repetitive and dramatic gang vocals reflect on the loneliness of the late night and getting trapped in your own head, with a killer stanza:
Life keeps knocking at my door, at my door
Every night, lie awake, I don’t sleep good anymore
In the sun, I forget all the things I could become
Then the night brings cold, and I am back in that hole
NEW AGE, which won the Youtube recommendation lottery, brings an unreal energy, taking notes from dust’s The Gutter. Its gritty riffs make for the most frantic song they’ve recorded yet, trading the dreamy atmospherics elsewhere in the project for three-and-a-half minutes of almost uninterrupted punk rock, bar the breezy chorus which allows the song to breathe. Matching the jagged guitar work, France sings at a breakneck pace, almost off the click, to convey a real sense of propulsion and need to move forward.
Yes, I would do it all again if you took me by the hand, I would try to make amends
‘Cos I want you, so I want to, but a knee jerk doesn’t feel right for the long view
New Age is surely one of the best Australian EPs we’ll hear in 2026, and we’re barely a month in. If this is what sleepazoid can achieve on just their second short outing, we’re witnessing Melbourne’s next breakout band come up.
sleepazoid are going on tour through March 2026, get tickets here.
