Track By Track: Committee of Sleep – Ruling Overturned By the Committee of Sleep

The new EP from Newcastle Upon Tyne indie band Committee of Sleep is came about after bass player and songwriter Olly Lightfoot, received a cancer diagnosis at 22.

That may be a part of the reason why there is a surprising maturity lyrically, and an acceptance of our eventual fate, is at the heart of Ruling Overturned By the Committee of Sleep’s five songs.

A common thread within the songs is the noticeably stark and matter-of-fact lyrics of bass player and songwriter Olly Lightfoot’s experience of cancer diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. It seems to have left him with a Thomas Newton style view of the world; normal things seem alien and exciting, and past life events are re-evaluated anew.

Similarly, it has left Lightfoot and the band with a distinctive approach to music: anyone that can get me thinking of Leonard Cohen, Luke Haines, and early Lambchop simultaneously is certainly on their own outsider creative path. A big thank you to Olly Lightfoot for giving us this breakdown of the EP’s very personal five songs.

Desire Lines

The frustrations of an argument half had, the sum of all the things that should never have been left unspoken. All the mess you brush under the carpet, putting off the inevitable for some short-term comfort. Taking the path of least resistance, you know the way you ought to go, but you carve out a desire line.

Space Time

I looked death in the face when I had cancer, and by accepting death into my life, I was for the first time able to truly live. The song tries to get that across in some ineffable way, and is dedicated to someone very dear to me who passed from cancer soon after I recovered.

Still Life

The subject of a nude painting considers himself in the eye of the other. Exposed, he looks inwards to project his vulnerability onto the world around him. The song is inspired by the first part of the novel Islands in the Stream and my experience of being the subject of a still-life drawing.

The Planet of Chocolate Bars

From the perspective of a man who is not quite living his life, going through the motions. A dissociative haze he loses himself within to obscure the prison bars of his own creation. He goes through the motions, and slowly comes into awareness of a possible alternative, a new life amongst the stars on the planet of chocolate bars.

Ultra Vivid Dream

Written as an ode to North Shields, the town where 3/4 of the band grew up and first met at school. It’s sort of an observational account of growing up, the different stages of life. I hated this place when I moved here and spent the next 10 years planning my exit, yet I find myself back here with a renewed appreciation for this north-east town. Hometurf for the Committee of Sleep.

Ruling Overturned By the Committee of Sleep is out now to stream on Spotify and download on Bandcamp. The band has a series of live dates lined up in the coming months, including appearances in Leeds and Manchester – hit up their TikTok and Instagram feeds for more details.