I have to admit; when I first saw the name of this band I expected them to play some form of crushing sludgy doom. After reading the press release (and subsequently checking them out) I couldn’t have been more wrong – but that certainly isn’t a bad thing. It’s quite difficult to characterise this band in all honesty, as they play a sort of amalgamation of grunge and metal with a little bit of stoner influence in there for good measure but there’s also something a little bit different about them that really helps them to stand out from the crowd.
There’s no doubting that SLOWMESH really knows how to write an earworm or two. The music is incredibly funky and will surely get stuck in your head once you’ve finished listening to it. The vocals are especially good; they’re not overpowering and nor are they in-your-face, but nevertheless pack a real punch and deliver so many lines that you will find yourself singing along to before long. Opener Spinning Around is an especially good example of this (so it’s certainly a good way to get the album started!) and there’s a lot of colour and emotion to the vocals which adds an extra boost to the music.
Another great inclusion is later track On And On, the penultimate track of the album. The opening wall of guitars hits you like a tonne of bricks and the funky bass underneath the vocals during the verse is great – SLOWMESH take two different approaches and merge them together so well. The chorus is another great element of the song, with powerful group vocals that will surely go down a storm in a live environment.
As a whole, SLOWMESH have created a seriously great album. This is a piece that will get under your skin because the music is just so memorable, and that is definitely a testament of great songwriting.
9/10
