Here’s one that will be overlooked / ignored / forgotten about. Slang have been and gone as a band already, and this cd may in fact be their only output. I am not so certain. This one release though is really good (and on Harlan Records – normally a guarantee of quality), and it’s a shame that we’ll never get a vinyl version.
Slang dealt in rhythmical rocking emo, sounding not unlike Party of Helicopters or Harriet the Spy, but perhaps not as rock’n’roll as the former or as dark as the latter. What it does mean though is lots of meandering and forceful guitar and basslines with high pitched strained vocals from Patrick and Samantha over the top. And 9 tracks of it. Everything drives on with a similar pace over the first half, which helps the flow of the album although it leads to there not being any specific stand out tracks, other than perhaps “Oh City of Graves” which grooves with an intensity that brings to mind Yaphet Kotto, I really like that one in particular. Straight after that is the much more downbeat “Sports Sentimentalist” which definitely does break the style of the record, starting off very quiet and sad with Samantha’s vocals prominent. “Fatal Gestures” changes the pace slightly too, and it actually sounds like an old (older than 7 years) Hot Water Music song or something. Good stuff! I guess it’s the vocals because I get a similar feeling on the excellent final track too, which also slows it down slightly again. There’s these really nice chimey guitars hidden the mix that are absolutely beautiful, Blacktop Cadence-esque! How many bands can I mention in this review?
It’s been a while between my listens of this record, but it’s good stuff, probably be quite easy to get hold of too if you look as I doubt it was in demand. Shame.