Sleep Debt Ceiling – Demo EP
Buffalo-based project Sleep Debt Ceiling has released their debut, Demo EP. The four song folk punk album, written and performed by James Stephenson, dives into the harsh realities of mental illness, drugs, and imposter syndrome. The status of band membership is unconfirmed as SDC claimed via Instagram, “This is maybe a solo project. It might be a band. No one is entirely sure of this.” The demo was written in April and recorded in May of 2024, as a result of Stephenson’s self-isolation. Through a perfect mix of raw acoustics, thought-provoking lyrics, and grungy vocals (see the spiraling chorus of “Self-Obsessed and Miserable” or sporadic bridge of “Guarantee”), Sleep Debt Ceiling is “guaranteed to make strangers ask if you’ve talked to anyone lately.”
Inspired by Stephenson’s upbringing, “Narcan Supernova” opens up the demo on a rough but poignant note. The track depicts the hardships of watching someone struggle with substance abuse and the repetition of routine use. The highs and lows of one’s relationship with addiction are reflected beautifully by stripped-back guitar that tugs at your heartstrings. Stephenson reveals his knack for storytelling with poetic lyricism:
Drag you back upstairs when you can’t stand
This is all routine
I wish that you had other plans
It’s hard to watch, it’s hard for me to stay
When is it my turn to just convulse and decay?
Not this shit again
Feeling weak since the last one
But two weeks ‘til the next
Remember back when this was fun?
The album continues by highlighting the humor in self-deprecation. These tongue-in-cheek comments are reminiscent of acts like The Front Bottoms who made ridiculing remarks a staple of the folk punk genre. SDC remains consistent with the “tortured artist” trope with commentary on self-destruction due to a loss of identity (see “Nightmares in the Daytime”) as well as observing the monetization of one’s suffering. This wonderfully contradicts the upbeat instrumentation offered by only a guitar.
Sleep Debt Ceiling’s Demo EP is available for streaming on Spotify and Bandcamp (below, and with limited cassette copies) as of August 16, 2024.
Categorised in: Buffalo
This post was written by Raigan Martinez