Album Review: Slowpoke - Slowpoke
Reviewed by Neil Bolton
With an opening track cleverly named 'Stony Iommi' you would be forgiven for expecting to hear a Sabbath laden riff seep into your consciousness. What you actually get is the punchy bass sound of a Mr Lemmy Kilminster shaking you into an upright position, ready to take notice of this Canadian three piece.
'Stony Iommi' is a nine and a half minute opening statement of the band’s musical intents. Punky, rock 'n roll leads you towards a spacey break which is different but perfectly matched to the start. The slightly psychodelic moment sees rolling drums and accompanying bass along with a calm guitar bed leading to a marvellous guitar solo leaving you in no doubt of this bands musical and song writing talent. The stoner repetitious riff is wonderful with the band happy in their conviction to carry this on. Their convictions then wish to add more, and a phenomenal crunch begins to surface in this tune. We have had no vocals in this number since the early opening sections of this song, which is a brave but powerful idea on an album opener.
'Slumlord' has a more normal three min running time and returns to the slightly punky, stoner music with Ben Chapman’s vocals ranging from a clean rock style to an occasional growl to highlight a particular phrase or line; slowing down to its completion to a Crowbar type tempo. We then begin to learn about the adventures of 'Sid the Cat'. Once more the band have a different sound with Cameron Legge on guitar showing he is capable of taking and keeping some of the lime light.
This ethos of managing to make songs sound different but still carry the overall feel of the same band is impressive. Also not many styles are excluded from their arsenal, this band can turn the tune on its head in an instant and still leave the listener entertained and wanting more. The thundering bass guitar tones jump and play along with Adam Young’s drumming exactly, showing many years of practice, and quite frankly talent.
Slowpoke have a self released, self titled album that demands to be listened to by anyone who would like a record to fire through their headphones and allow them to be taken somewhere else. It is equally as entertaining as a fellow traveler on a car journey with the window down, permitting the listener to rock out and ease the day to its conclusion.
