Album Review: Sløtface – Sorry For The Late Reply

Norwegian alt.punks Sløtface branch out on second album Sorry For The Late Reply

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Why be good enough /When you could be a success?’ yells Haley Shea at the outset of S.U.C.C.E.S.S., the opening track on her band’s second album, a spark that sets off a riot of pinballing percussion and guitar. Initially, that brazenly ambitious statement may seem off-kilter for Sløtface, rhetoric befitting a snake oil salesman rather than an openly progressive punk band. But the hyperactive instruments take on a different tone as Haley continues: ‘You better represent / Be the best damn immigrant’. Later, she asks ‘If you’re not crying, do you care enough?’ It’s a smart, calculated look at a world in which pressure to be more productive, happier, better than everyone on your friends list – or worse, an example for an entire group of people – can be absolutely crushing.

You see, few bands put the party back in political party like Sløtface. Their 2017 debut Try Not To Freak Out paired dancefloor-ready punk with sharp lyrics that took on such topics as the indie boys’ club and negative body image. Sorry For The Late Reply still kicks out the jams, but the band are older and, perhaps, a bit wiser now. As a result, these 11 songs feel more expansive and embrace all the confusion of growing up at 100 clicks-per-minute.