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What’s up Sorry Staters?
After last week’s epic newsletter, what could any of us possibly have left to talk about? I got a lot of positive feedback about the chaotic mess I crammed together for my personal “year in review” write-up last week. Thanks to everyone who reached out for the kind words!
Not much to mention about what’s going on in my life since last week. Got a couple outta town gigs coming up, both of which are benefit gigs that I’m happy we got invited to come and support. Firstly, January 18th in Richmond is a benefit for M.A.D. RVA, which stands for Mutual Aid Distribution. I’m stoked to see Yankee Bastard, will be my first time. Then the following weekend, Public Acid is making a trip up to Baltimore for a Palestine benefit gig at Ottobar. If you’re reading this living in Richmond or Baltimore and will be attending one of these events, I look forward to seeing you at the gig!
This week, I decided to write about this LP by Slevy. Sorry State stocked this record for the distro along with our most recent order from Discos Enfermos. I’m pretty sure these copies are left over from a pressing back in 2017. For those unfamiliar, much like I was, Slevy is a one-man recording project from this dude based out of Basque Country. Titled Vol. 1, I’m pretty sure this LP is the first edition of a 2 LP discography, collecting Slevy’s recordings dating back from the mid-00’s onward. The grey artwork is misleading, this record is super bright and catchy punk!
The recordings sound super lo-fi DIY style. I’m pretty sure all the drums you’ll hear on the record are from a programmed drum machine. Either that or an electronic drum kit. Super clean guitars, very dry, boxy sounding production. It often feels like the dude is just goofing around and messing with weird sounds and instruments for a laugh. Moments in the vocals are super funny. The songs basically come across like they were recorded in the guy’s bedroom. But once I got past the no-frills aesthetic of the record, I realized that this dude is actually a very skilled songwriter. The songs are SO good. A super melodic style of punk, but his influences seem incredibly broad, ranging from raging guitar-forward ’77 garage bangers to slow, brooding post-punk with layers of synth. The songs are so anthemic, they demand backup vocals sang in a gang-like chant, so the dude must have just doubled his own voice a bunch of times. From one song to the next, the sounds of each instrument sound kinda different and the fidelity really varies too—almost like when inspiration struck, dude just set up microphones wherever he was sitting in his bedroom at that particular moment. As a result, this album almost listens like an all-Spanish Bloodstains or Killed by Death compilation, but of course all recorded by the same dude.
At certain moments, mainly on the more brooding songs, the vocal delivery reminds me a bit of Paralisis Permanente… I mean, I guess? Like the less gothy, toybox version. For a more contemporary reference, something about the super melodic almost-but-not-quite-Oi! DIY sound with that toybox instrumentation kinda reminds me of Pura Manía? But then the more up-tempo jangly clean guitar KBD-style songs remind a bit of Tiikeri, though not sang in Finnish, obviously. The further I get into these songs, the better and better it gets. I find myself easily listening to the whole record and flipping it over and over again. A track like “No Lo Sé” on the B-side is definite standout track, leaning more toward pop punk, with this guitar melody underneath the vocals that reminds me of “Talk To Me Summer” by Screeching Weasel. I don’t know if this record really sounds like any of those things haha. Just imagine all those elements thrown in a blender.
That’s all I’ll say for today. Do yourself a favor and take a gamble on this under the radar Basque punk banger. As always, thanks for reading.
‘Til next week,
-Jeff