Label: Propeller Recordings
Released: 31st January 2020
Rating: ★★★★
A mere three years on from their momentous debut album ‘Try Not to Freak Out’, which catapulted them into pop-punk stardom – and a government programme that saw them debut this newer material in Norwegian prisons – Sløtface who hail from Stavanger, Norway are delving into the more personal and political sides to themselves on ‘Sorry For The Late Reply’.
From start to finish the album is a thunderous tale that rivals a pendulum in the rate it swings between shimmering indie-rock and riotous euphoric punk. Sløtface are all rumbling bass lines, static-infused guitars and saccharine vocals which carry an underlying pessimism that is mostly is manifested by the juxtaposing experiences of vocalist Haley Shea.
‘Passport’ taps into the turbulent nature of being an American who grew up in Norway, which partly ties into the discussion of immigration and gender bias in ‘SUCCESS’. There is a distinct departure from the sentimentality of their first release, but in no way have Sløtface separated themselves from the sound that carved this path for themselves.
Instead, there is a strengthening and building on what has come before. ‘Laughing at Funerals’ morphs into an anthemic number, ‘Static’ blurs the lines between disco and industrial punk, and ‘Crying in Amsterdam Reprise’ is unlike anything we’ve seen from the band before. 2020 is going to be a good year for Sløtface.
