“So gimme rules I have to follow, and I’ll bend them round myself.“
Ever since Slung began their album rollout for In Ways, there has been an inescapable charm and heart to the record that has developed with each entry. Initial offering “Laughter” showed toe-tapping grooves, “Collider” crafted riff-laden soundscapes, and “Thinking About It” overflowed with earworms from each element of the track. The Brighton unit are set to unveil the full package of In Ways, an album that is utterly captivating and sincerely joyous.
The journey, which is in a sense what In Ways portrays itself as, begins with the aforementioned “Laughter”, where Slung’s versatility begins to showcase itself. The progressive guitar riffs and pounding drum grooves bounce off the walls, and later tracks “Matador” and “Collider” delve into a similar all-encompassing sonical force. Weaving together post-rock, post-hardcore, and progressive rock, with noodling riffs akin to that of Queens of the Stone Ages’ in the past, Slung are a joy to the ear.
Drawn-back moments intertwine in the early stages of In Ways, as guitars pluck and twang away on “Come Apart”. It offers up a blend of Slung‘s aforementioned post-genre stylings with an air of indie-folk that would be familiar to those who indulge in the likes of Angel Olsen and Sharon Van Etten. Mid-point tracks “Limassol” and “Heavy Duty” offer up some true gems where Katie Oldham’s vocals croon and soar. Oldham‘s vocals are nothing short of utterly impressive, with a range and intensity to them that helps elevate In Ways to a special record. Delivering on heavier tracks such as “Class A Cherry” and the ballad-esque moments on “Heavy Duty”, Oldham proves to be a vocalist that many should give their time to.
The wry joy of “Thinking About It”, which contains vocal hooks such as “Cause nobody hurts my feelings more than more,” lays down more captivating lyrics and riffs as In Ways approaches its crescendo. The quiet title-track interlude transitions succinctly into “Nothing Left”, which sees Oldham show a vulnerability that hadn’t yet been fully revealed. “It’s not that I’m foolish, it’s just that I don’t know how to love,” laments Oldham; even as the track builds into its louder closing moments, Oldham’s vocals once again soaring magnificently, it retains its poignant emotive quality.
The odyssey of Slung‘s debut album closes out on a quieter, more solemn note with “Falling Down”, with Oldham ruminating, “How did I end here, to end up alone?” The bassline rumbles behind, with this and the soft drums evoking footsteps as In Ways walks us through its closing moments. While “Falling Down” is perhaps not the closer the earlier moments of In Ways would have suggested, it allows the record to further showcase the introspective side that “Nothing Left” did so well too.
There is a meticulous nature to In Ways; whether it’s the guitar solo that softly fills the air in “Nothing Left” or drum fills that add to the energy of “Laughter”, very little here feels like it’s plucked out of thin air to fill a space in the track. This, alongside tracks “Laughter” and “Thinking About It” that are infectious with their hooks, and heartfelt moments of their drawn-back sound on “Heavy Ways” and “Nothing Left”, are all nothing short of deeply impressive. What Slung have produced here puts them on the level of quality of their contemporaries in the likes of Giant Walker and El Moono. And given the quality on show, it surely won’t be long before Slung are a much more familiar name to many.
8/10
In Ways is out May 2nd via Fat Dracula, and can be pre-ordered here.