slenderbodies - soraya EP

slenderbodies
soraya EP
2019
Spotify

slenderbodies have been quietly making a name for themselves in the indie space for awhile now. Each new album has been rich and diverse continuing this trippy aesthetic that feels like a more melodic version of psychedelia. If you're looking for a place to put a pin their most direct influence would be Glass Animals, but this album shows they've outgrown the Glass Animals-lite moniker. The vocals are still breathy and whispered like that first big Glass Animals hit, but the band have evolved into new and more exciting territory all their own. There has always been a natural feel to the music slenderbodies make, Max and Benji have said in interviews that they like writing in nature and near the ocean, but here it's less of a straight up natural vibe and much more of a groove. "take you home" finds this wonderful middle ground between nature and beat where you are able to move but you can still feel the trees blowing around you. Not many bands can inhabit this space, Photay though is one that immediately springs to mind. The band have said that on this album they wanted to explore a more feminine energy and it does come through especially on songs like "king" and "queen". However instead of these being straight up love songs or songs about one particular woman this feels more cumulative, trying to sum up this whole energy they are putting on to the tracks without falling into the normal tropes.

Songs like "the one" feel so unique especially with what is going on with popular music today. So much of it is dark and brooding, but slenderbodies seem wholly uninterested in that. They like a slow burn but not the kind that somehow goes dark. Even when their music feels slow and heavy it's never negative, just some thick sheen for you to get through before you find what's hidden underneath. The thing slenderbodies do incredibly well is not to rely to heavily on the electronics to curate their vibe. They use a real guitar, some real percussion and then move from that position. It gives all their songs, despite the wiggly production things going on, this real grounding. They make music that anyone can listen to because it is just classically good. There's no need for explanation or context with them, their music just works from the jump. slenderbodies continue to surprise and continue to make super solid music and only three years into their career. I'[m glad I've been following them since the beginning because they just keep getting better and more diverse. Let's hope this trend continues.

8.0 out of 10