01/12/2016 – Slugpie-The Swamp (2016)
Slugpie are the perfect antidote to a day of Crimbo music and faux cheer
December the first is a day I look forward to and dread. The looking forward is always simple. Its just after payday and the thought of the Christmas break is so close you can taste it. The downside is that today marks the first in a long day of almost constant Christmas music at work. By rule Christmas songs are terrible by design. In three and a half minutes they cram in everything that sums up the period. Over indulgence, gaudiness and an underling vibe that if you aren’t enjoying it then you must be defective in a happiness gland. Today was one such day. I needed an alternative. Luckily I found it in Slugpie.
Slugpie are a sludge trio from Limoges, Limousin in France. They make the kind of music that can only be made when boredom happens, musical conventions have been thrown out of the window and a total disregard for decibels has been reached. Basically its loud, slow, repetitive and very, very good! Opening track, The Swamp, is the stand out track on the EP. As The Swamp starts an eerie and spooky vibe kicks in before a devastating riff kicks in that grabs you by the ears and doesn’t let go until the end. It sways and skews along its stoner rock way until a searing solo appears out of nowhere. It’s like the Misfits are being covered by Kyuss.
While the lyrics to The Swamp are little more than guttural screams and grunts there is a larger picture. Luckily Slugpie’s Bandcamp page gives you the lyrics. The second verse is chocked full of stalking terror and malice “Smell the stench, Something’s near, Lumbering. Coming for you, Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, No escape, The Swamp is coming to get you”
This is an EP that screams, literally, to be replayed and replayed. With each listen you peel back another layer to reveal some very clever compositions and inventive playing. The Swamp, and Slugpie, are coming to get you. I just hope you’re ready when they do!
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