Caramel

Album

Even In Arcadia

Label

RCA Records

Genre

Afrobeats

Composer(s)

Vessel1, Vessel2

Entered Chart

Apr 19, 2025

Peak Date

Apr 19, 2025

Known for their masked performances and commitment to anonymity, Sleep Token have always prioritized their music's focus and meaning. However, "Caramel" is a departure, with the anonymous frontman, Vessel, shifting from the band's lore to a more introspective perspective. On "Caramel" Vessel becomes both the subject and the observer, caught between the desire to create freely and the looming threat of his identity being exposed. Every time they try to shout my real name just to get a rise from me Acting like I'm never stressed out by the hearsay I guess that's what I get for trying to hide in the limelight. There it is: the juxtaposition of wanting to be left alone to create yet being constantly thrust into the very limelight Vessel sought to avoid. It's a case of wanting to retreat but being pulled back, again and again, by the very thing Vessel sought to escape. Sticky and sweet, caramel represents the pull that fans have on Vessel - their adoration and attention becoming something he both craves and resents. He sings, "Stick with me till you feel nothin' as well," urging us to follow him on his journey, not just through his music but through the healing process that writing it has become. Yet, there's a sense of inevitability about the whole thing. The rise in popularity was bound to come, and while Vessel seems to appreciate the success, he acknowledges that with it comes a certain price, one he suspected would come, eventually. "Caramel" is, then, both a plea and a warning - a cry for understanding from the one behind the mask, asking for patience and a little more space to breathe. For the release of "Caramel," Sleep Token did what they do best: tease, tantalize, and mystify. Through cryptic social media posts and a curious collaboration with a North Carolina weatherman named Chris Michaels, the band built the kind of enigma they've become known for. Finally, on April 4, 2025, they released the track as the second single from their second album, Even In Arcadia. The name Arcadia comes from the Greek province that symbolized a utopian vision of harmony with nature. Untouched by the grime of civilization, it evokes an idyllic, unspoiled wilderness. And in a way, that's exactly what Sleep Token seeks: an escape to a world where the music can remain pure, untainted by the chaos that surrounds it. But as "Caramel" suggests, the path to that sanctuary is anything but smooth, and the journey is only just beginning.

verse
Count me out like sovereigns, payback for the good times
Right foot in the roses, left foot on a landmine
I′m not gonna be there tripping on the grapevine
They can sing the words while I cry into the bassline
Wear me out like Prada, devil in my detail
I swear it's getting harder even just to exhale
Backed up into corners, bitter in the lens
I′m sick of trying to hide it every time they take mine
chorus
So stick to me
Stick to me like caramel
Walk beside me 'til you feel nothin' as well
verse
They ask me, "Is it goin′ good in the garden?"
Say, "I′m lost, but I beg no pardon"
Up on the dice, but low on the cards, I try not to talk about how it's harder now
Can I get a mirror side-stage? Looking sideways at my own visage, gettin′ worse
Every time they try to shout my real name just to get a rise from me
Acting like I'm never stressed out by the hearsay
I guess that′s what I get for trying to hide in the limelight
Guess that's what I get for having 20-20 hindsight
Everybody wants eyes on ′em, I just wanna hear you sing that top line
pre-chorus
And if you don't think I mean it, then I understand
But I'm still glad you came, so let me see those hands
chorus
So stick to me
Stick to me like caramel
Walk beside me ′til you feel nothin′ as well
I'm fallin′ free of the final parallel
The sweetest dreams are bitter
But there's no one left to tell
bridge
Too young to get bitter over it all
Too old to retaliate like before
Too blessed to be caught ungrateful, I know
So I′ll keep dancin' along to the rhythm
This stage is a prison, a beautiful nightmare (too young to get bitter over it all)
A war of attrition, I′ll take what I'm given (too old to retaliate like before)
The deepest incisions, I thought I got better (too blessed to be caught ungrateful, I know)
But maybe I didn't
verse
(In these days of days) tell me, did I give you what you came for?
(I wish it all away) terrified to answer my own front door
(I thought things had changed) missin′ my wings in a realm of angels
(But everything′s the same)
outro
So I'll keep dancin′ along to the rhythm
This stage is a prison, a beautiful nightmare
A war of attrition, I'll take what I′m given
The deepest incisions, I thought I got better
But maybe I didn't