Like Hank Williams Sr., SLUSH were never born, only hatched. Rising from the ocean floor, the Brooklyn-based, ontological collective returns with a strange and twisted full-length follow up to the protopunk, doom-blues swagger of their first LP, “American Demons” (2016). True to the band’s steadfast motto of “garbage music for garbage people,” “Lizard Skin” is an epic, seven-song struggle with the reptile within, blending elements of Howlin’ Wolf, Spacemen 3, Leonard Cohen, and avant-garde behemoths Swans.
Out March 29, “Lizard Skin” was self-produced and mastered by Bob Weston of Chicago Mastering, and will be pressed as a double LP on natural white vinyl.
SLUSH are comprised of Joe Dahlstrom (bass), Tom Barnes (drums), and Alex Boehm (guitar and vocals). The three have played together since 2012, gigging extensively in and around New York City. The band has played together in several iterations, and also make up the powerhouse that is Hot Knives. SLUSH have allowed them to explore different musical outlets that are dark, weird, and unapologetic.
“These songs are an exploration into the darker/more avant-garde stuff, getting into weird rhythms, some riff worship, quiet spooky blues, things like that. We recorded these songs in late 2016, kind of with the expectation that we had taken SLUSH as far as we cared to take it.”
While the band is now essentially focusing more on Hot Knives, they wanted to give the heavy, bluesy goodness that is SLUSH a proper send-off. The solid, pounding riffs, gorgeous colored vinyl, and unique sound of this release are definitely that, and luckily, fans can still look forward to a lot more music from the trio as Hot Knives.
Read our review here.
