Slow Crush: Gazing Into The Future
Despite only have been founded back in 2017, pan-European grunge flecked shoegaze unit SLOW CRUSH have risen fast. Having just come off tour with Chicago’s post-metal master PELICAN, the four-piece are still buzzing.
“The PELICAN tour was amazing! We’re very thankful to have had the opportunity to share the stage with such an iconic band in so many beautiful venues across Europe. Being able to hang out with such a great bunch of people and watch them kill it every night was an absolute dream. Playing Italy and Switzerland for the first time made this tour even more special for us, but we loved every show. The response we received was great and as with every tour, we made some new friends and memories along the way/”
Not content with hitting European stages, SLOW CRUSH are already planning shows across the pond for the new year, their second jaunt stateside in less than twelve months. “In spring this year, we spent three weeks gigging from Texas to LA and all the way up the West Coast to Seattle. It was a great experience. We were blown away by the immense support from the US crowd.” Although returning after such a short time, the band’s itinerary is a little different second time around. “This time we’ll be on the icy East Coast with [Texan doomgaze outfit] GRIVO. We’re really excited to go back and experience the other side of the country. I’m personally looking forward to playing the renowned Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn, among others, and catching up with friends in Chicago, Richmond and Kentucky. Also looking forward to all the vegan food over there, although not looking forward to gaining those extra kilos!”
Though the band have most recently released debut full-length Aurora back in 2018, they’ve recently re-issued their first release, 2017’s Ease. What’s spurred this decision? “Vinyl copies of the original Ease EP pressing sold out fast and people have been asking for a repress ever since. We knew we wanted to make the re-release special and not just a carbon copy second press.” What’s the re-issue bringing that’s different from the original? “The deluxe edition contains the original four Ease tracks accompanied by a four track Part Time Punks live session we recorded at Cave Studio, while on tour in LA. As well as that, it comes with a refreshed cover layout with beautifully glossy, embossed text and some fancy good-enough-to-eat vinyl colours. One’s even called the ‘cornetto’ press. Yum!”
The re-issue is being released on Holy Roar Records, a label now synonymous with the best of all things heavy, forward-thinking and underground. How did the band come to work with Holy Roar? Are they fans of the label and its roster? “If you’re not a fan of Holy Roar’s roster, you live in a cave. We love the Holy Roar team to bits. Their ethics and values match those of our own, making working with them a breeze and nothing but enjoyable. We’ve been fans of the label and its bands for ages and were happy they were so enthusiastic to work with us when we sent the recordings of our full length, Aurora to them, which they released September 2018. We love their passion for music, releasing music they love, making their roster diverse yet with a subtle common denominator. I can’t go naming all of the Holy Roar bands we’re fans of, but those we’ve met [GIVER, PIJN, HOLY FAWN, OHHMS, SECRET CUTTER to name a few] besides being great bands, are absolute legends, proving the Holy Roar crowd is the exact crowd we want to be in.”
Re-issuing Ease inevitably brings up the question of comparisons between their earlier and later work. How do the band feel they’ve changed between the two releases? “We’ve definitely grown as a band both musically and personally, which I think is evident comparing the tracks from Ease to Aurora. Ease is perhaps a little rougher and punkier where Aurora has deeper, grungier undertones. We’ve learned so much during our short existence. Being on the road over 100 days a year has taught us how deal with unexpected situations. I think we’ve now just about perfected our load-out van Tetris by now.”
“The evolution of our sound from Ease to Aurora developed organically, just by us playing the music that we love, which resonates most with our personalities,” says the band. “The way we mix a heavy, loud, effect driven wall of sound with soft, dreamy vocals, sits us in that shoegaze classification, I suppose, but we’ve heard people comparing us to bands that are far from shoegaze. Someone compared us to THE MELVINS once, which we absolutely loved! I think it’s great that there are deeper elements in our music that can appeal to a variety of people.” This blend of elements stems from the wide range of influences and interests that end up filtering into the band’s sound. “We all come from a hardcore/metal background which might be noticeable in our percussion section. The playlist in the van can jump from doom to vaporwave, thrash metal to 80s pop. What we listen to is a little all over the place which is probably why it’s hard to pin us down to one specific genre.”
SLOW CRUSH is comprised of members from across Europe, operating out of Belgium. Naturally, current political uncertainty (that we’re all sick of hearing about and begins with ‘B’) could prove to be problematic for bands who tour internationally as relentlessly as the four piece. “The thought of a no-deal Brexit is absolutely terrifying; not only for us, but for the future of music in the UK in general. Not only will it force travelling bands (in both directions) into even deeper debt, removing freedom of movement could cause some smaller, independent music venues in the UK to shut down. It’s really hard to make money in the music business nowadays and the enforcements that are likely to be put in place if Brexit would happen would make it crippling. As for us, it’s hard to plan for the worst until the government make up their minds on what exactly is going to happen. Until then, it’ll be business as usual for SLOW CRUSH. Hopefully our mixture of passports will somehow work in our favour rather than be a hindrance.”
Despite this current level of political ambiguity, SLOW CRUSH show no signs of slowing down, with their drive to get their music out to as many people as possible continuing into the new year. “We’ll definitely be hitting the road again in 2020. We have a couple more tours planned already after the US dates. Our schedule already looks pretty packed leading up to the summer, which is just how we like it. We just about have enough material for album number two already. In between tours and festivals we’ll be working hard on perfecting and fine tuning it for when we hit the studio. Watch this space!”
Ease (Deluxe Edition) is out now via Holy Roar Records.
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