That desire to have a good time has never disappeared though. ‘Try Not To Freak Out' is littered with pick up and party anthems, from the triple woo kickstart of ‘Magazine' to ‘Pitted''s full-bodied embrace of chaos, Sløtface soundtrack lost nights and new discoveries. The thing is, they want everyone to have a good time. They want everyone to feel included. Body image, the superhero stomp of Nancy Drew, Beyonce and Patti Smith and hanging out with friends, Sløtface "long for a soundtrack of women who all know what's up." Until then, they'll do it themselves. From tearing up living rooms to protesting on mountains against Nordic Mining dumping chemicals in the fjord, the group has always caused a ruckus. Sure, they changed their name from Slutface to help spread their music, but that fiery determination to stand up and be heard hasn't shifted. ‘Try Not To Freak Out' is less aggressive but their presence is important. "It's more of a controlled anger than things we've released in the past. It's more anxious and frustrated. We can now direct the anger." While the EPs capture tiny bursts of fury and fervour, ‘Try Not To Freak Out' was crafted over months. Moving back home to their parents "because we couldn't afford to pay rent and spend six months writing an album" forced the band to reflect on how much things have changed. Caught between youthful adventure and adult responsibility, the record wrestles with itself and the unknown. "All the songs we ended up picking have that nervous energy to them. The record is a lot about anxiety, anxious about not being in the right place at the right time or feeling like you haven't made the right decision. Letting go of the bravado of a very self-assured teenager," but at the same time it "brought up a lot of those memories and emotions of what it was like to be a kid and how things are really different now. It's a way of processing those feelings and making sure you remember them in song." While nostalgic for days gone by, there's no sadness "It's not so much saying goodbye as it is more remembering what that was like when you were younger and then realising that you're going to have a different kind of adventure now." "'Slumber' is about how since being in this band I don't have very many close female friends anymore, and how special it is to have a group of close female friends," starts Haley. "Our band is special too but it's a totally different thing to the friends you grew up with, and people you had sleepovers with when you were nine or ten. I was trying to reflect on all those different relationships you have in your life. It was trying to give those special relationships a place to live in my brain." Elsewhere, "‘Pool' is our grumpy old man song, about getting mad when people don't get what they're supposed to do. It's the least punk song that's ever been written," and ‘Galaxies' is about "feeling like you're always in the wrong place while everyone else's lives are moving on around you and you're stuck where you're not supposed to be. Sometimes that happens without you even noticing it. It's like how the universe is always expanding, but it doesn't feel like time is changing." As the band grow, so does their universe. "You know that time is passing, and things are changing, and people around you are growing up and doing things, but it's not something you always realise until much later." ‘Try Not To Freak Out' tries to make sense of it all. For a long while, it was Sløtface versus the world. Now, "we still feel like that sometimes, but maybe that's another part of growing up, maybe it's not so much us versus everyone else, but more us against different situations." Also, "It's not just the four of us anymore, there are more people involved now." Travelling the world hasn't really changed things for the band and their relationships with each other, "but it gives you a good sense of perspective when you're in your twenties, and you get to travel and meet people who are your peers. You get a small glimpse into how young people live their lives. The best part of being on tour is meeting new people who are in different situations with all kinds of different opinions and talking about their lives. I think that'll inspire a lot of the next stuff we do."
’s Before Doors sessions