Ireland’s four-piece band Big Sleep have developed a cult following in their home country with their shows continually selling out.
The band are now reaching internationally with their latest single “Crude” and the announcement of their debut album, Holy Show. Channeling the indie-pop craze of the early 2000s, the new single sits in a comfortable meditative space as the band reconciles with late-night thoughts.
The song is a relaxing stream-of-consciousness single with the slow build of ethereal instrumentation over the course of five minutes. Big Sleep uses different pedal effects and plugins on their guitars to create a large soundscape in the first half of the song without overloading the mix. A tremolo guitar riff in one ear and a sharp melodic guitar in the other with live drums sitting in the back is all the song needs to keep a forward-moving pace. Keeping the keys sparse in the first half of the song further adds to this slow build. For the bass line, switching the guitar on and off between the verses and the chorus keeps the lower frequencies interesting.
In the last two minutes, each element of the mix starts to overflow into one another, leading to a fitting overload in the last 30 seconds. When your song is stream-of-consciousness, it’s important that your instrumentation is able to move at the same pace as the lengthy lyrics, which “Crude” is able to do easily.
Lyrically, the song goes back and forth on multiple subjects, but the setting of the “twilight sky” shows thats these thoughts are found in the middle of the night. In the final chorus, the band asks “are you dreaming? I get the feeling you’re not sleeping,” which perfectly encapsulates the anxious tone. The lyrics don’t try to directly convey anything to the listener, but this helps in the song’s late-night drive tonality.
“Crude” by Big Sleep is a meditative but captivating song that spotlights the quiet conversations and opinions of the after hours. The instruments and lyrics complement each other, highlighting the band’s clear drive and vision.
If you’re hoping to hear “Crude” live, Big Sleep are are about to start their Europe and UK headlining tour, with their upcoming debut album, Holy Show, out January 30th, 2026. Tickets are available here. Pre-save the album here.
BIG SLEEP – WINTER 2025 EU/UK TOUR:
10.24 – Dublin, Ireland – The Academy
11.05 – Manchester, UK – Deaf Institute
11.06 – Bristol, UK – Strange Brew
11.07 – London, UK – The Garage
11.08 – Nottingham, UK – The Bodega
11.26 – Paris, France – Supersonic
11.27 – Luxemburg – De Gudde Wellen
11.29 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Rust
12.01 – Hamburg, Germany – Nochtspeicher
12.02 – Cologne, Germany – Yuca
12.03 – Berlin, Germany – Badehaus
12.04 – Rees, Germany – Haldern Pop Bar
12.05 – Amersfoort, Netherlands – Fluor
12.07 – Tilburg, Netherlands – Hall of Fame
