There is no greater gift and honour than being a part of welcoming new life into the world, and there’s no more profound duty and responsibility than helping to nurture that new life. A moment like that is a clear before and after dividing line in the time you spend on this Earth. It’s a perspective shift; no longer the main character in your own story, but a vital supporting role for a new star. It’s a pact that you pledge your heart and soul to, sacrificing your own time, energy and wellbeing for a greater cause. In a way it’s a new start, a new life of its own. You and your child facing this strange scary world together, learning and growing in tandem. This journey into fatherhood has been a reinvention in more ways than one for Kelcey Ayer, formerly of Local Natives and Jaws of Love. Capturing all the joy, stress and uncertainty that comes with becoming a parent, penning songs under his own name for the first time, for his new solo EP – the aptly named No Sleep.

The sterile ambience that opens ‘The Arrival’, an eerie hospital drone punctuated by drums like a nervous heartbeat, soon gives way to a gorgeous Bruce Hornsby-esque piano that radiates joy and warmth to soundtrack the miraculous new life entering the world. This celebratory spark is contrasted beautifully by the cold, dreamlike aloofness of ‘Different Planets‘, using its uncanny electronica and haunting harmonies to capture how alien all the newfound responsibility feels. ‘Ghosts of Neighborhood Dogs‘ – not only the EPs highlight, but one of my favourite tracks of 2025 thus far – with its gorgeous harmonies and airy earworm arrangement reminiscent of Wild Pink, pulls double duty within the EPs narrative. Offering both a nostalgic look back at the old life left behind, while also looking forward to sharing lore and personal histories with your child to help frame where they came from.

The droll spoken word of the title track takes the “no sleep” part of parenthood very literally, while the suitably hymnal ‘Motherhood is the Real Jesus’ reflect that no matter how equally draining and uplifting fatherhood can be, a mother’s role is so much more profound, sacrificial and miraculous. All the many facets of this daunting seismic shift that is parenthood – fear, anxiety, pain, relief, euphoria, love – are captured across the EP in a series of eclectic and contemplative vignettes, providing a perfect little time capsule for a world-altering milestone. 

Fans of Local Natives, Wild Pink and Bon Iver should check out Kelcey Ayer’s new EP No Sleep out now.