Live:
SLOW PULP
Slow Pulp make music rooted in nostalgia. Not even necessarily for a musical genre of the past (even though you can pretty accurately trace their lineage), but moreso in the listener for a youthfulness that may be fleeting or already gone. When I listen to Slow Pulp it gives me the same energy as dancing to Guns N’ Roses as a kid with a red bandana wrapped around my head. Or eating watermelon sour patch kids in my town park after smoking my first joint at 1AM. Their music has a bratty exuberance that’s a relatively common thread in the modern lexicon of 90’s-worshiping shoegaze/slacker rock aficionados.
But something about Slow Pulp feels…different. And that difference makes itself apparent when you see them live. There’s jokes about being on your period, striking guitar god poses while laying down blankets of distorted squall. It’s cheeky, and it’s bright, but it has a heavy-headedness that keeps you grounded, reminding you that you’re 24 and you’re drinking a $12 beer but you’re happy to be in the right place around the right people seeing the right band.
Slow Pulp Singer/Guitarist
Emily Massey
So anyways, Connor and I went to their show this past week, the first night of their mini New York marathon at Bowery Ballroom (they also played @ LPR, then went to Boston, then came BACK to Bowery again on Saturday). The energy was high and the floor was packed. Slow Pulp is a band that’s been on my radar for a while; I put “Idaho” on a playlist I made for Connor for his birthday a few years ago. But in preparation for their show I dove headfirst into their new album Yard, and without question I loved it. This Chicago by way of Madison band demonstrated a firm grip on 90’s alternative touchstones, blending (as I mentioned above) shoegaze, slacker rock, and grunge with a distinctive alt-country twang and some excellent slide guitar.
Take, for instance, a song like “Broadview”, a lilting, melancholic country rock ballad. Vocalist Emily Massey brought a powerhouse performance, soaring through the chorus in this late-show highlight, while steady brushed drums and some delicious slide guitar painted the full vivid picture to completion. Or the snarky, snarling pop-grunge of a song like “Cramps”, emphasizing youthful humanism with a desire to want EVERYTHIIIIIIIING while also cautioning us to watch out for Heather: whether an analogy for the passage of time or peeling away of age, or just some genuine warning against a schoolyard gossip queen. Whatever (or whoever) it is, I’m here for it.
Slow Pulp Guitarist
Henry Stoehr
Opening with the one-two punch of “Slugs” and Moveys cut “Idaho” had me hooked immediately; the syrupy hypnotics of the former melding with the tremolo’d bliss of the latter. Around halfway through the main set, the band brought out Maya Bon, lead singer of show opener Babehoven (who, by the way, were excellent) to sing a lovely duet of “Falling Apart”.
Highlights continued throughout the show. Some of my favorite moments included the loud-quiet-loud euphoria of “Mud,” the grime-covered love-hate serenade of “Worm,” and the deceptively gorgeous acoustic “Fishes,” all songs that show the dynamic strengths of a band with so much variety within a specific sound across their discography.
Plus there was that incredibly heart-wrenching sing/shout-along to “At Home,” with the simple yet soul-crushing refrain of “Should I try all over again?” It could be about a relationship, apprehensive to fall into new love after a heartbreak. Or pursuing any sort of greater calling and worrying about the aftermath. Much like all of Slow Pulp’s music, it’s a song veiled behind a gossamer curtain of innocence, with a thick and heavy current of coming-of-age malaise sitting pensively on the other side. Like walking into your childhood bedroom when it’s Thanksgiving night and you’re 25 and wasted.
L-R: Slow Pulp Bassist Alex Leeds, Emily Massey, Babehoven Vocalist Maya Bon
Coming out for a brief (but much celebrated) encore, Slow Pulp broke into some fan favorites, including the very loved and VERY relatable track from their 2019 Big Day EP, “High,” an awesome track about being too high and the inevitable brain fuzz that comes along with that. With a truly bludgeoning crescendo, it’ll sober you up no matter how wasted you are. Adding in the titular piano ballad “Yard” and the prom slow dance of “Montana,” and it was a wrap. Slow Pulp demonstrated their strength as a live group with infectious energy and perfect chemistry, churning out banger after emotional grungey-shoegazy banger. If they’re playing near you, go check ‘em out! Any band that can make a song as beautiful as “Broadview” in one breath and drop an awesome cover of Sum 41’s “In Too Deep” in the next is certainly worth your time.
- Aaron
