Singled Out: Sleep Nation's Maneater (Hall & Oats)

09-28-2026

Sleep Nation just released a music video for their cover of the classic Hall & Oats hit "Maneater", and to celebrate we asked Bran Merritt to tell us about the track. Here is the story:

I've always been a huge fan of Daryl Hall & John Oates. My wife and I bonded over this band when we were dating. They've always been a part of my listening history, but it wasn't until our producer, Jonn Nicholson, heard a demo from our Famine installment of the Four Horsemen series that the creativity really started to flow for this song.

We were workshopping ideas for what would be included on the album, and when Jonn heard the sample, he jokingly started singing "Maneater." That got my wheels turning. Since the song was going to be released as part of Famine, a dark folk/Americana acoustic project, that became the direction I drew from.

The lyrics themselves are dark, but Hall & Oates make them sound fun. So, we decided to take the song to a darker place-one that the lyrics naturally gravitated toward. I believe this will be the first cover song in our catalog.

Jonn also suggested that we get the Sisters Mann on the track, which made the song even more haunting. They are no strangers to the dark acoustic folk vibe, and their contribution really sealed the deal in creating the ghostly sound we were looking for.

The strings you hear throughout the track were provided by Flight Attendant's Nikki Christie, and they absolutely sell the song. I wanted to replace the saxophone from the original with an instrument that better fit the sound we were aiming for, and the strings ended up being the perfect choice.

Hearing is believing. Now that you know the story behind the song, listen and watch for yourself below and learn more here