There it is! The album that has divided the stoner rock community! Sleep without the man who doesn’t own any T-shirts. Sleep without Matt Pike.
About three months ago, I wrote an Instagram post saying I couldn’t imagine Sleep without Matt. But if it worked, if the album was good – if it really sounded like Sleep – I’d be the first to admit I was wrong.
Well…! It still doesn’t sound entirely like a Sleep album to me. But damn, it’s a fantastic piece of stoner rock, and the old Sleep sound shines through now and then. Just not often enough, unfortunately.
With Matt Pike and Jason Roeder gone, Al Cisneros has put together a new line-up with guitarist Bubba Dupree of Void and Melvins drummer Dale Crover. That colossal guitar force that once seemed to drag continents behind it is no longer the centre of gravity. The bass takes up more space, the grooves feel looser, and the music drifts into psychedelic territory. Dupree brings his own voice rather than trying to imitate Pike – a sensible decision, even if I miss those unmistakable riffs.
There’s plenty to enjoy. The record has a warm, murky sound, Crover gives the songs a pulse, and the new line-up finds compelling moments. The title track and “Arrival of the Industry Ships” show that Sleep can still disappear into a hypnotic groove without simply repeating the past. “Have Spacesuit Will Travel” delivers familiar cosmic heaviness, too!
Still, Hempispheres doesn’t completely convince me. Some passages feel like promising ideas rather than fully developed songs, and the reduced guitar weight leaves a gap that bass and drums can’t always fill. I admire the willingness to move on, but not every experiment lands.
So no, this isn’t the Sleep album I hoped for. It’s no new Dopesmoker, and it doesn’t fully capture The Sciences’ magic. But it is a damn good record, with its own identity and enough flashes of brilliance to make this new chapter worth hearing. I was wrong to rule it out. I’m not ready to call it classic Sleep.
-Helge Neumann
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