TONY LIO just rolled out of the shadows and slammed down “Better to Sleep.” This is vulnerability turned up to eleven, and it’s absolutely blistering.
Lio has always had chops, but here, he ditches any semblance of a safety net. But don’t mistake that for acoustic campfire fluff. This is the kind of minimalist, heart-on-the-sleeve rawness that the greats build legends on. It’s a bold, brass-knuckled creative shift, and it lands like a ton of bricks. The title itself, “Better to Sleep,” festered in his notes for ages, a ghost waiting for its moment. That tells you everything.
The magic here isn’t just in Lio’s own confessional delivery—though that alone is worth the price of admission. The track marks a powerhouse reunion with producer Christopher Kapshock, the guy behind Lio’s earliest EPs. Nearly three years later, these two link up again, and the chemistry is explosive. You can feel the evolution, the miles travelled, distilled into every sparse, intentional note. It’s a reunion that proves how deep their creative partnership runs, and the result is a track that’s tighter than a snare drum.
But hold up—the secret weapon? Mackie June. Lio’s bandmate in their side-gig Mackie and Lio steps in, and her harmonies don’t just complement Lio’s lead; they tear a hole in the sky. Lio says he wanted a voice to contrast his own “in just the right way,” and brother, did he find it. June’s vocals weave around his, adding depth and friction that elevate the whole track from great to undeniable. It’s a collaborative spark that makes you crave what they’ll unleash next.
So what’s the damn song about? Lio nails it: “We’ve all had moments where staying in a dream feels easier than facing what’s in front of us.” “Better to Sleep” captures that universal escape hatch—the temporary, desperate breath of forgetting. It’s for the overwhelmed, for the weary, wrapped not in pretentious poetry, but in stark, relatable truth.
Tony Lio’s“Better to Sleep” is less-is-more rock. It’s soft only in decibel, striking with the force of a freight train. It’s heartfelt storytelling fused with unmissable artistic guts. Now get out there and stream it until your speakers bleed.