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Dec 01, 2022 By Caleb Campbell

Brooklyn-based indie outfit Slow Fiction have been steadily working their way up through their local scene over the past year, cementing an expressive and often danceable brand of indie rock that brings forth echoes of New York touchstones like The Strokes or Yeah Yeah Yeahs. They’ve also released a string of new singles this year, including “International Cherry,” double A-side “The Cut” / Niagara,” and their latest effort, “Nameless Harm.”

Today, they’re back with news of their forthcoming debut self-titled EP, out February 16th of next year, and accompanying the announcement they’ve also shared another new single, “Top 10 Movie Scenes,” premiering with Under the Radar.

“Top 10 Movie Scenes” finds the band slowing down for a more expansive effort, crafting a widescreen offering traced with fuzzy indie rock textures. Lead singer Julia Vassallo’s vocals bring a sweet and effortlessly melodic counterpoint to the dreamy indie haze of guitarists Joseph Skimmons and Paul Knepple, while all of it is knit together by bassist Ryan Duffin and drummer Akiva Henig. Whereas previous singles felt like cathartic bursts of movement and energy, “Top 10 Movie Scenes” steadily builds upwards in a simmering slow burn. Fittingly, the track’s soaring climax feels perfect for a coming-of-age movie, capturing an emotive high in brilliant instrumental color.

The band writes of the track “Writing through a false lens allows you to put yourself in the minds of people you don’t know, and create storylines that don’t exist. The idea behind this track came about during a paranoid delusion… and a melody followed shortly after.”

Check out the song below, along with an introductory Q&A with the band. The Slow Fiction EP is out everywhere on February 16th.

For anyone who doesn’t know Slow Fiction, how would you introduce them?

We’re five people who met at different points in life, but all came together with a shared love of music and the desire to make something new and relevant. I think we fall in love with music that makes you believe in something or reminds you of a visceral moment from your past. I guess we want to recreate that feeling by crafting songs with interesting textures, memorable melodies, and lyrics that have tangible meaning.

What made you choose “Top 10 Movie Scenes” as this forthcoming project’s first single? What is its significance?

“Top 10 Movie Scenes” is a track that defines our sound really well, and in general embodies our group’s personality. It’s got dramatic elements, but also has humor built in. We had so much fun writing this song & bringing it to life.

How did you determine the sonic direction your newest content is going down? Where did you derive inspiration from?

The best part about creating music with a group of people is that we all have these overlapping sonic influences, wherein a lot are the same, but someone is always bringing something new to the table. We have inspiration ranging from my bloody valentine to Big Thief, which allows us not to box ourselves in too much. Over the summer, we all moved within a few blocks of each other in Brooklyn. That alone gave us a lot of freedom to experiment with adding new sounds and layers to the songs this time around. There’s a lot of noise and such across our new recordings that were all recorded in our basement.