Sleep Theory are back with another surprise cover, and this time they’ve set their sights on the biggest pop star on the planet. With this latest cover, the band has decided to tackle “Cruel Summer” by chart-dominating, Grammy-winning Taylor Swift. The track, from her 2019 septuple-Platinum synth-pop smash, loverswas co-written with frequent collaborator/megaproducer Jack Antonoff and Grammy-winning alt-rock maven St Vincent (aka Annie Clark). While the track was not released as a single during the album’s initial release cycle, it quickly became a fan favorite and a viral hit after its inclusion in the setlist of her record-breaking Eras Tour in 2023.
This cover, along with the band’s recent renditions of *NSYNC’s “Bye Bye Bye” and Paramore’s “My Heart,” you have been bundled into a surprise new EP, entitled (E)motional (S)upport (C)are (P)ackage. Unlike the previous two covers, this one has not yet made its way into the band’s live set. Yet. The three-song EP is available now on all streaming and download platforms. And yes, that is the real album artwork below.
Much like their spin on *NSYNC, this is another surprisingly faithful cover. Aside from shifting the song’s key down to a perfect fourth (five semitones) and some blink-and-you’ll-miss-it lyrical tweaks, this cover shows the band, once again, delivering an irony-free banger and playing to their soulful, melodic strengths.
And it’s new, the shape of your body / It’s blue, the feeling I’ve got / And it’s ooh, woah-oh / It’s a cruel summer
And yet, somewhere in the translation, the track has gained something of an edge. It could be the lower and rougher timbre of lead singer register Cullen Moore’s voice, but this cover carries a more knowing, decidedly adult flavor. Coming from Moore, a line like “Bad, bad girl, shiny toy with a price” carries more heat and innuendo than the slick, scrubbed-to-perfection original could ever hope to muster. Sleep Theory are quickly becoming the gold standard of nu/alt-metal reinterpretations.
Towards the end of this month, the band will appear at INKcarceration and The Summer of ’99 And Beyond Festival. After that, the band will continue their trek through North America, with opening act Silly Goose. Throughout the remainder of the year, the band will perform at several more festivals, including KATTFEST and two stops on the Vans Warped Tour.
Check out the visualizer for “Cruel Summer” and all the tour dates below.
The (E)motional (S)upport (C)are (P)ackage EP is out now on Epitaph Records.
Summer Dates
07/18 Mansfield, OH @ INKcarceration Music & Tattoo Festival
07/19 Tinley Park, IL @ Summer of ’99 And Beyond Festival
North American Tour with Silly Goose
07/28 Kansas City, MO @ The Truman
07/30 Green Bay, WI @ EPIC Event Center
07/31 Dubuque, IA @ Dubuque County Fair Association
08/01 Omaha, NE @ The Admiral Theater
08/02 Springfield, MO @ The Regency
Vans Warped Tour
08/21 Montréal, QC @ Espace 67 at Parc Jean-Drapeau
09/12 Mexico, MX @ Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez
Additional Dates
08/22 El Reno, OK @ Rock 100.5 FM KATTFEST
09/20 Louisville, KY @ Louder Than Life
10/04 Sacramento, CA @ Aftershock
10/17 Nashville, TN @ Ceremony Festival
10/24 Fort Worth, TX @ Sick New World Texas
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