Sleep Theory’s Cullen Moore Discusses Debut EP + Songwriting – ‘It’s All About Building Things That People Can Relate To’

On Tuesday's Loudwire Nights (Jan. 16), Sleep Theory frontman Cullen Moore reflected on the success the band has experienced over the last calendar year.

"It goes from posting a TikTok from my apartment and now we're on a stage with Beartooth a year later," Moore told host Chuck Armstrong. "It's absolutely insane. It's humbling."

The TikTok Moore mentioned was shared on Jan. 12, 2023, and it featured Sleep Theory's song, "Another Way." Within 36 hours of sharing it, the video hit half a million views. Exactly a year later, Sleep Theory opened the first night of their tour with Beartooth at the Andrew J. Brady Music Center in Cincinnati.

"I remember I sent a text message to some guys in the band [last year] and said, 'If we stay focused, if we do this and that, these are the things that we can achieve all through 2023.' And some of them were like, do you really think you can do all that in 2023? I was like, yeah, I think we can do this. Everything in that text thread is everything that went on in 2023."

As he considered the milestones and accolades of the previous year — festivals, radio successes and more — Moore said his goal for 2024 is simple.

"Go bigger. Go bigger."

Why Cullen Moore Never Wants to Release a Bad song

One of the online comments Moore will always remember from a Sleep Theory fan is that the band has never released a bad song. Holding onto that idea, Moore treats it as a gauge for everything he works on going forward.

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"I've become obsessed with that," he admitted. "I'm trying to keep every single song to be banger after banger. It's just become like an obsession. It's fun making music ... We write these cool songs and we're having a good time doing it."

As he considered the previous comment about going bigger in 2024, Moore said one of the goals for the new year is to continue delivering hard-hitting records so that people can keep saying Sleep Theory have not released a single bad song.

"It's all about building things that people can relate to," he explained about his songwriting approach. "How can we make it a story or an experience?"

What Else Did Sleep Theory's Cullen Moore Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• What it's like sharing the stage with a band like Beartooth
• What fans can expect from Sleep Theory in 2024 beyond the band "going bigger"
• Why he convinced himself a long time ago that he was going to do something big in the music world

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Cullen Moore joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, Jan. 16; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand. Stream Paper Hearts at this location and check out Sleep Theory's full tour schedule.