When I first heard Sandman last year, I was absolutely addicted. ‘MADONNA’ felt like a revelation, a breath of fresh air in the modern landscape of pop punk. Rather than being riddled with an overwhelming sense of almost teenage melodrama, it had a playfulness and fun to it that had you just enjoying every moment. So, when I heard Sandman was out with a nine track EP this month, I couldn’t wait to get to listen to it back to front. The resultant record is fun, explorative, and wonderfully diverse across its runtime. Told as a coming of age story, a love story, and the various ups and downs within it, this indie dominant pop rock album is a statement release from an artist who’s bound to hit even higher heights as the years pass.
Opening with a semi-titular piece that oscillates between traditional pop with elements of alternative skewed in, ‘Mr. Nice Guy’ puts you in a rather smooth and easy to listen to groove. Right after, you’re thrown into the freneticism and high octane energy of MADONNA that just screams good vibes. ‘Summer Lover’ takes the tempo down a notch, a much more groovy and melancholic sounding r&b-esque tune. ‘Hate Me’ gets you back into the more edgy punk feeling with its angst in the right place.
There’s a lot to love about this record, possibly first and foremost being its almost perfect suiting for a coming of age movie. With the diversity in sound that Sandman’s displayed here, I find myself impressed and intrigued with where and how he’s going to fixate his sound in the months to come. To me, few indie pop artists are doing as much with as much clear emotional strength behind it as this project.