Listening to the first track on Measures by Walking Sleep, I could swear I’ve heard this sound before. And I have. A little digging told me the band originally formed under the moniker The Flying Tourbillon Orchestra and I was quite fond of their EP from a year or two back, Escapements. The name may have changed, but the music maintains that male/female harmony in vocals, and those bouncy orchestrated and orchestral pop melodies. In fact, the band reworks favorites from that EP, “In A Dream” and “Don’t Be Fooled”. The basics are there, but the vocals are clearer and the instrumental freak-outs are more epic.

Walking Sleep does exactly what you’d want from a band that produced a stellar debut EP — they take it to the next level. These songs are just as catchy and just as impressive as those found on Escapements, but Measures goes one step further by maintaining consistency throughout in producing immensely upbeat tunes fronted by dark, harmonic vocals. Songs like “The Cause” and “As A Volunteer” bring together the modern pop sensibilities of artists like Belle & Sebastian and The Shins while pulling in greater historic influences of classics like The Zombies.

Packed with songs like this, from “Arso” to “What We Forgot”, Measures is a solid album. With the addition of Sara Radle (The Rentals) complementing lead male vocalist Hunter Curra, the band’s original vision is enhanced and fully realized. Dark and mysterious, yet backed by an unchanging upbeat nature, Walking Sleep is a band to which you should lend an ear. “Let It Go On” is packed with a heightened orchestration that’s anthemic and borderline monumental.

Download: “Final Chapter” by Walking Sleep

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[CD, 2010]

1. The Cause
2. In A Dream
3. Final Chapter
4. As A Volunteer
5. Let It Go On
6. Arso
7. Don’t Be Fooled
8. What We Got
9. Shake The Cold
10. Standing In The Threat