Text: Laura Rosierse
‘Still Life’ is The Slow Show’s fourth studio album, and their first new album in three years! We couldn’t be more excited about the Manchester-based four piece’s extensive and dreamy sound, soulful, heart-warming, and mesmerising, both recorded and live. The Slow Show is doing it again!
‘Mountbatten’ is the perfect album-opener, a very hearty, and beautifully refined song that shines the brightest of spotlights on the soft and seductive vocals of singer Robert Goodwin. With this brand new album, The Slow Show show that their sound will never go out of style. All eleven tracks on the album are based on a minimalistic, piano-driven sound, framing a pair of rich vocals, with some experimental elements that give the band its hook. Right before we start to think that eleven songs might be a few too many, an exotic voice enters the mix, softly beating drums add depth to ‘Rare Bird’! ‘Woven Blue’ and ‘Blue Nights’ sound tranquil yet exciting, slightly faster paced and with a positive hook, drenched in those enticing vocals we’ve figured we simply can’t get enough of…
About lead track ‘Blinking’, Robert says: “An ode to love and loyalty. The song is a defiant pledge to never giving up on the people you love. Musically we wanted the song to have an impact, a directness and powerful punch that we’d previously shied away from.” Their formula has once again proven to be successful, The Slow Show push their boundaries, lean against their wall of sound and drive each other outside of their comfort zones, and in the process of it all sound uncomfortably comfortable. ‘Still Life’ is diverse and rich in elements, ‘Breathe’ is a grand example of that diversity, being brass-driven and with vocals that softly speak instead of sing. They developed their sound, tried something else, “We felt we owed that to ourselves, and to the people that come and enjoy the music. We explored a lot of different things, it was difficult and challenging, but it felt good in the end.”
Having been recorded remotely, ‘Still Life’ as a concept takes inspiration from the experiences of lockdown, the emotions they experienced while creating this album, we felt too. We hear frustration, anger, fear at times, but most of all hope, and love for the artform they have created. ‘Still Life’ is personal, an evolution of the band we already loved, but love a little more now. It is a hopeful work of art, a peaceful and refined album that marks the start of a next chapter for a band that doesn’t need fitting in.
[PIAS]
