Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

There are many young bands out there that will never make it, for whatever reason. Some of them flame out as a result of tyranny within the band and some of them can’t find a label. The fact that it takes both luck and skill to make it as a band in the US is as well-known as the fact that two plus two equals four.

To find a band that shouldn’t have any problems making it into the big time is very exciting, especially when they are still relatively unknown. City Sleeps is one of those bands. They have a solid label backing in Trustkill Records (Bullet For My Valentine, Soldiers), and top-notch producer John Feldmann (Story of the Year, The Used) says that his work on the band’s Not An Angel, which is their full-length debut, is his best to date.

While it’s never fair to compare bands, this Atlanta-based fivesome reminds me so much of recent megaband Hinder that it’s too hard to deny. They sound a lot like the band, and I think that they have the same type of stardom in their very near future. The album contains two songs that have megahit written all over them. First, the single Prototype, has a video attached to it, and is being played on various radio stations throughout the country. The other song, the title track, is already one of the best testing songs of the year on AOL Music and is likely to be their next single. The only criticism that I have of this band is that they need to play together more to become great; but that is true of any band. I see big things in the future for City Sleeps, and this is definitely a good pickup for anyone looking for some power rock music with melodic hooks and soaring vocals, which are provided by frontman Ely Dye.