REAL-TIME REVIEW: “Paradise” by Slow Club

My copy of Slow Club’s new album “Paradise” arrived in the post this morning, and I’m just about to listen to it for the first time. Below I will be writing my first impressions of the record, in another of AGCS’ ever popular real-time reviews.

Is reviewing a record on the impulsive reactions provoked by the first listen a worthwhile pursuit? Perhaps not: the list of albums I have hated on first listen but gone on to love, and the reverse, would be a long one. But to quote David Byrne in Seen And Not Seen, “first impressions are often correct” - and that certainly proved to be the case with the last of Montreal album. Here’s hoping Slow Club’s record can provoke a better reaction than that!

Anyway, let’s not get bogged down in the theory. Suffice to say, this does not aim to be an exhaustive review but my first impressions of the record on my first listen. Without further ado, then, let’s press play on “Paradise”…

Two Cousins

Kicking off with a song I’m already well acquainted with, although repeated listens haven’t diminished its impact. I remember when I first heard this track being shocked by just how soulful it was; as if Slow Club took the vocal showboating at the end of “Yeah, So?” standout Trophy Room and used it as a template for an entire song. Its definitely got a much bigger sound than anything on their debut, with Rebecca’s vocals stronger than ever. If the rest of “Paradise” is anywhere near as good as this I’ll be very happy indeed.

If We’re Still Alive 

Did somebody say “Chillwave”? And if they did, can someone reach over and slap them? What an awful name for a fabricated genre. Anyway, yes there’s no denying the fuzz/surf-rock vibes on this one, and yes you could compare it to the likes of Best Coast and Wavves, but it doesn’t come across as bandwagon-hopping and in fact could have quite easily fit on the first Slow Club record. It’s pleasant enough on first listen, but after the bombast of the opening track it seems a little slight.

Never Look Back

This is more like it! Clicking fingers, mournful, cooed backing “oooooohs” and a plaintive vocal from Charles, whose brilliant voice never seems to get the same praise Rebecca’s does. Oh, but then Rebecca swoops in with another batch of soulful, doo-wop vocals and shows just why she gets that praise in the first place. Lyrically, this one seems pretty dark, with a morbid opening couplet of “Baby brother in the next room/ trying to bring him back to life”, yet it’s a darkness which could have quite easily rolled off the Motown production line.

Where I’m Waking

After a couple of more subdued tracks, we’re back to the big sound Two Cousins promised, and if anything this song’s simple clap-along drum beat and catchy duel vocal/guitar riff raise it above the opening track. Musically, things are still pretty fuzzy, in fact I don’t think I’ve heard an acoustic guitar yet, which just shows how far the band have moved from their predominantly folk-y debut.

Hackney Marsh

Spoke too soon of course! As soon as I typed “where are the acoustic guitars” I knew they’d be popping up on the next track. Some lovely vocal interplay between Charles and Rebecca here, before it’s interpreted by an improbable sax solo that somehow manages not to ruin the song. The new bigger sound is great, don’t get me wrong, but this song’s subtle beauty is a reminder of why I first fell for Slow Club.

Beginners

But soon enough it’s back to the new, “Soulwave” sound (I’ve decided to get involved in the create-your-own-genre party), with it’s clattering drums and effects pedals and yet more soulful vocals. Unfortunately this time the song doesn’t seem to work as well as When I’m Waking or Never Look Back, and it’s definitely the least satisfying track so far.

You, Earth Or Ash

This is more like it though, programmed beats and a deep bass sound underpinning a more downbeat vocal take from Rebecca. When she sings “But I’m Exhausted, I’m Exhausted”, she sounds it. It’s got a sort of anti-chorus with a wonky, unpleasant synth sound which nonetheless works perfectly. Oh, and Rebecca busts out her old “let’s see how ridiculously long I can hold a note” trick, last seen on the aforementioned Trophy Room, and yet again it’s breathtaking.

Gold Mountain

I remember this one from Slow Club’s performance at Get Loaded festival, and it sounds just as arresting here as it did there, helped in part by the fact that it sounds like it could be a live take. There’s no synth or sax accompaniments here, just the unadorned majesty of Slow Club’s songwriting, and heart-wrenching cries of “You are the only one, the only one that counts”.

The Dog

At first this doesn’t sound like Slow Club, with Charles’ vocals fuzzed out beyond recognition, but soon enough it reaches an anthemic chorus where he’s joined by Rebecca and their vocals break through the distortion. Oh and the oooh-ooooh-oooh bits are lovely. Another strong track.

Horses Jumping

Back to the old acoustic with Charles taking the lead here, being joined by a viola before Rebecca appears and the song swells to a fantastically euphoric finale. It’s actually difficult to write about this song without sounding cliched, but in short it’s stunning, the definite highlight of what on first listen appears to be a very strong second album. 

But that’s not it, because just as on their first record we’ve got a hidden track at the end, the title track Paradise, which has seemingly been relegated to hidden track status purely to allow the band TWO anthemic album closers. With it’s maudlin intonations of “I want to live in paradise”, it’s a fitting end to an album which is on the whole a more downbeat affair than their first; but this only serves to make the moments of release feel more cathartic, and more earned. Repeat listens will be needed to see whether “Paradise” can live up to it’s title, but on the first play alone I’d say it’s not far off.

Jed. x