Slothrust @ o2 Institute, 24 October, 2017
Every now and then you get asked to review a band or artist you’ve never heard of, and sometimes when you sit down to do a bit of research and listen to said band/artist, you sit there wondering why the hell are this band not in my music life already!
Step forward Slothrust, a 3 piece hailing from NYC and dragging with them a name that by their own admission, is a bit marmite but it catches your attention if nothing else! They bring a wonderfully American grungy sound that has a definite tinge of Pixies topping it off.
Slothrust have entered our shores to support Manchester Orchestra. This being no easy task considering the majority of the dates are sold out and it’s fair to say a significant amount of the crowd are there for the headline band.
Their set starts whilst the room is still filling, but it does fill and that’s in no small part thanks to Slothrust. The ever annoying chatty people that ruin everyone’s experience at a gig are noticeably silenced by the time Magnets Pt. 2 has finished, a song that starts eerily quietly with just Leah’s vocals and a nice bit of intricate guitar work filling the room, then builds to a distinctly Slothrust finish, noisy, full of angst and catchy as hell.
The set is finished with my standout track Crock Pot. I love everything about this song, it’s quiet and gentle, builds to a frenetic 5 second breakdown with drummer Will, battering his drums (and he was loving every second of it). Leah’s guitar work is intricate, loud, raw and really catchy. This song also happens to be a favourite of mine on the lyrical front; ‘I like cats, do you like cats? Of course you do, you sassy motherfucker.’ It’s a gem of a song and a hell of a way to finish of the set.
There was no annoying chatting during songs by the end of the set, Slothrust came in and made the room their own for that 30 minutes (tragically too short if you ask me).
I left wanting more, leaving me to ask – please, can we have a headline UK tour next time?
Review and Photographs: Marc Osborne