{"product_id":"sleep-now-forever-rsd-2024","title":"Sleep Now Forever - RSD 2024","description":"\u003cp\u003eFirst time to be released on vinyl, this long out of print CD only album is remastered by Mikey Young for a deluxe 2LP version on Black Vinyl with an exclusive etching on Side 4. A total Underground classic. \u003cstrong\u003eSleep Now Forever\u003c\/strong\u003e is the second and final album released by Sorrow, the post-Strawberry Switchblade group fronted by singer Rose McDowall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOriginally released in 1999 and long since deleted, it is a cornucopia of pastoral, elegiac folk music, swirling atmospherics, hymnal compositions and above it all the alternating towering and fragile vocal performances of McDowall. Recorded in the late 90s with fellow band member and co-songwriter Robert Lee, \u003cem\u003eSleep Now Forever\u003c\/em\u003e is the definitive statement by the now defunct group and Rose McDowall's most complete long-form work to date.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eReleased through the group's own Piski Disk Records, \u003cem\u003eSleep Now Forever\u003c\/em\u003e was distributed by World Serpent which struggled through the early 2000s with financial woes, eventually folding due to bankruptcy in 2004. Due to the company's troubles, \u003cem\u003eSleep Now Forever\u003c\/em\u003e was never distributed widely and was a victim of the company's failure. Released on CD only, original copies are now rare and only traded on second hand channels.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDespite its rarity, \u003cem\u003eSleep Now Forever\u003c\/em\u003e enjoys a firm cult following. The album's textures are expansive, lush, deliciously detailed and celestial. Recorded in home study Velvet Hole by Rose McDowall and then-husband Robert Lee, the album enlists an array of players from the underground Neo-folk\/industrial scene.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe eleven songs here revolve around McDowall's instantly recognizable voice. Brought up singing in the Catholic Church, McDowall's vocals are impeccable and angelic, particularly on tracks like \"\u003cem\u003eTurn Off The Light\u003c\/em\u003e\" where her experiences with religion are canted over soaring oboe and guitar backing.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBy far the most evolved and realized version of Sorrow's vision, it feels somewhat criminal that music this beautiful could be lost to time until now. McDowall's lyrics throughout \u003cem\u003eSleep Now Forever\u003c\/em\u003e deal frankly with mental health, depression, altered states, death, and redemption.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eWave upon wave of harmony drench each song, McDowall's vocal multi-tracked and imperious. Opener \"\u003cem\u003eSoldier\u003c\/em\u003e\" benefits from Robert Lee's use of the studio as an instrument, summoning forth a lilting group performance of sparkling guitar and percussion that recalls the Velvet Underground.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMikey Love's master treats the compositions to brand new frequency dynamics and space. Harmonium and string drones form the counter to McDowall's vocal on \"\u003cem\u003eLove Dies\u003c\/em\u003e,\" a slow, lurching lament that feels transcendent. On \"\u003cem\u003eHaunting\u003c\/em\u003e,\" the arrangement is orchestral and aching, bleeding into \"\u003cem\u003eFear Becomes You\u003c\/em\u003e,\" with chord and harmony structure that recalls the baroque sixties pop of West Coast Pop Experimental Art Band or the 60s psychedelic folk movement.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA towering, beautiful statement, this elegy for times lost and moonlit-illumination is finally resurfacing from the darkness.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Night School","offers":[{"title":"Black LPx2","offer_id":50447181185355,"sku":"2229040","price":32.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"CD","offer_id":50811993981259,"sku":"2229041","price":14.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0867\/1120\/6219\/files\/Sorrow_-_Sleep_now_forever_43658df3_thumbnail_4096.jpg?v=1727073125","url":"https:\/\/shop.roughtrade.com\/products\/sleep-now-forever-rsd-2024","provider":"Rough Trade","version":"1.0","type":"link"}