Massachusetts-based Defeater has been hailed as "a new artistic peak for hardcore" by Punknews.org and their sophomore full-length release, Empty Days & Sleepless Nights, further cements the accolade. Empty Days & Sleepless Nights is a fourteen-song double LP (single CD) and the first four tracks showcase a new, acoustic side of the band that sounds a lot like Rocky Votolato and Ryan Adams. However, they return to their hardcore roots and deliver ten huge-sounding, heavy and catchy tracks to round out the album. Empty Days & Sleepless Nights is an absolute masterpiece.