Released: 31st January 2020
Rating: ★★★★
‘Sorry for the Late Reply’ documents Norway punks Sløtface’s past few years, much of it spent touring the world in support of their 2017 debut, ‘Try Not To Freak Out’. It’s an apt title for a collection of songs driven by YA anxieties.
‘Telepathetic’ is sugary sweet grunge-pop, with striking nods to Veruca Salt and other 90s bands whose sole aim was to soundtrack a high-school rom-com (the band were name-checked in Netflix hit Sex Education for a reason, after all). There are shocks of immigrant power punk too, such as opener ‘S.U.C.C.E.S.S’ and later on ‘Passport’, which are nothing short of triumphant. Moreover, the band’s energy pours out on the funk-tinged chaos of ‘Static’.
Haley Shea has an incredible ability to pen heartbreakingly honest and relatable poetry, which truly hits home on this release. The most notable being ‘Stuff’, a quintessential heartbreak anthem with an irritatingly beautiful back and forth whining riff, capturing the mood of the aftermath of a breakup perfectly. The same goes for ‘Luminous’, where she sings “I guess there’s no such thing as platonically sleeping next to you”. ‘Laugh At Funerals’ follows this cathartic melancholy perfectly too.
From the personal to the political, Sløtface second full-length is a relevant, relatable and rebellious effort of amped up and fucked up punky guitar pop.
Jasleen Dhindsa
