• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Feb 05, 2020 By Stephen Mayne Web Exclusive

First records are often the culmination of years of build-up. Where does a band go next? For Norwegian pop punk four-piece Sløtface, the answer seems to be more of the same, only better.

Sophomore effort Sorry for the Late Reply bursts into life, the opening track an explosion of energy and self-confidence with singer Haley Shea shouting on “S.U.C.C.E.S.S.” “why be good enough/when you could be a success.”

Debut record Try Not to Freak Out often felt like this, a flat-out sprint from track to track. That propensity to rush forward feels familiar here. This is the same Sløtface; in your face, positive, and a lot of fun. Except some things have changed. The melodies float higher, the rhythm section chugs along fully in control, songs slow when they need to, and Shea has a theme she wants to address.

Born in America, living in Norway, and recently sent all over everywhere to perform, national identity is on her mind, especially with the current U.S. President unable to stop pulling at it. It’s clearest on “Passport” where she addresses head on this idea of belonging, singing “I’m more than my passport/but it’s a part of me.”

Variants on that idea surface elsewhere, though this is still an album content simply to be enjoyed. “Laughing at Funerals” features an effortlessly slick guitar hook while “New Year, New Me” comes with the perfect chorus, drifting away on the line “keep hoarding books I’ll never read/making plans I’ll never keep.”

Sløtface has delivered a mightily impressive follow-up, zooming in on past strengths, then leaning out to add more. This is an infectious, sharp record, different enough without losing what works. And when it works, which it frequently does, it really works. (www.slotface.no)

Author rating: 7.5/10