SYNESTHESIA'S SESSION NOTES FOR OCTOBER 2020: THE RISE OF SLOW PULP

 

SLOW PULP
(l-r Emily Massey, Henry Stoehr, Theodore Matthews, Alexander Leeds)

FROM THE DJ'S STUDIO DESK:

The last time I set foot in a venue to experience live music was this past December 2019, as I ventured out to see my friends in both the Madison based band Disq, who themselves opened for the evening's  headliner, the Madison born now Chicago based Slow Pulp.

This evening certainly was a celebratory one for certain as I had been regarding both bands and this collective of musicians for a few years now. After a 2019, which saw both groups perform well received sets at the SXSW Festival and the fact that Disq had already recorded their debut full length album for the Saddle Creek label and that Slow Pulp themselves had already released the wonderful EP "Big Day" (released May 15, 2019), it was truly something to watch the ascension, the growing attention, the growing validation of their considerable efforts and artistry receiving the very notices that I had so deeply wished for them. They had all come so far and this particular night would serve as a victory lap.

I first met Slow Pulp guitarist/keyboardist/songwriter/producer Henry Stoehr a few years ago when he was performing as an auxiliary member of the now defunct Madison band Modern Mod, in which Emily Massey served as the formidable lead singer. Stoehr also, at that time, also was a member of the currently dormant Trophy Dad in addition to the very band that would become Slow Pulp (as all of the material under the band's previous identity has been wiped clean from internet sources, I will respectfully refrain from referencing the name and output). 

Upon our first meeting, Henry Stoehr presented himself with a familiarity that was unforced, open, warm and genuine. It was as if we had already been friends for years, that was indeed how natural our rapport happened to be, and I am pleased to report, has remained so ever since. There was something of equal parts knowing and open hearted about him and as with essentially all of these young musicians, all I could do was to wish them well and hope that whatever the music industry would possibly bring to them, may it all be more positive than negative as I never wished to see this young man's spirit bruised by an unforgiving business.      

On the night of the show, and after quite a lengthy period of not having seen each other face to face, Slow Pulp arrived to the venue and I had the chance to speak to Henry Stoehr again on this chilly December night, during which this homecoming performance would signal the conclusion of nearly a year's worth of touring. Stoehr, still with that gleam in his eyes, was indeed very tired and understandably so due to all of the travel, which he admitted had finally caught up to him, making him look forward to returning to his Chicago abode for a lengthier duration. I also reunited with Emily Massey, who also was looking forward to slowing down a bit while also exploring her songwriting even further and without distraction. Both band members then informed me that a full length album was indeed in the works as writing had commenced. 

By showtime, I marveled at the tremendous growth contained in their full performance, which showcased a greater depth, maturity, nuance, pacing and even poetry than ever before, definitely showcasing how much they had clearly learned over the years as the foursome continued to congeal beautifully, making the band they used to be seem worlds away.

When I first met Henry Stoehr, drummer Theodore Matthews and the Minnesota based bassist Alexander Leeds, all friends since childhood, I thoroughly enjoyed and was considerably intrigued by the band they used to be. It was one, like their  contemporaries was presented without any sense of self-congratulatory ironic distance or jadedness. There was, as presented through their scrappier, raw and almost defiantly lo-fi earlier efforts, a creative joyfulness at hand. A willingness to have some fun bashing around, getting sounds recorded and still be skilled enough as budding songwriters to discern how these exceedingly left-of-center selections would work, and therefore exist, as full fledged songs.  

By the time of the band's name change into Slow Pulp, and the arrival of Emily Massey into their ranks, a progression began to occur on "EP2" (released March 9, 2017). While the sonic display remained lo-fi, the songs became stronger. Massey, who since the conclusion of Modern Mod, briefly was also a member of the short lived band Melkweed, injected an ethereal seductiveness into the mix, which generated slinky, smoky material like "Preoccupied" and the drowsy, dangerous "Die Alone." 

Subsequent singles "At Home" (released June 5, 2018) and "Steel Birds" (released November 1, 2018) each charted considerable growth as the songs, growing ever stronger, benefitted from a more polished production and then, the excellent, succulent "Big Day" found the quartet firmly solidified as a formidable, fully idiosyncratic unit that honestly sounded like no on else other than themselves, to my ears.

Now signed to the independent Winspear label, Slow Pulp has made yet another leap as they are just about to release their debut album entitled "Moveys," which thanks to the band, I have been able to hear in advance and I was thrilled to receive my official copy in the mail this past weekend. While I will delve deeply into the album for you in a future post upon this site, I can so proudly announce that the album is indeed a winner as it carves out a delicate, melancholic, superbly thoughtful and poignant song cycle that takes everything the band has utilized in its atmospheric aesthetic and has extended themselves even further. 

As with their contemporaries in Disq, who coincidentally delivered a prescient work in their album "Collector" (released March 6, 2020), which arrived one week before our nation became officially engulfed in the COVID-19 pandemic, Slow Pulp's "Moveys" feels perfectly in sync with the emotional, psychological, and spiritual tenor of the times.  The album possesses an open-hearted inventiveness and conviction that emerges through the intense noise of the world with a nerve ending exposed empathy that is consistently disarming in its directness and clarity, even when the emotions are all a jumble.

It is a work that so often surprised me as well as amazed me because again, I am so fortunate to have been a witness from a considerably earlier stage, observing the growth in real time and now, watching an hearing them as artists armed with a stunning collective voice which has more than earned its place in the indie rock lexicon. 

My pride for them is bursting as is my overall concern that they are able to navigate this business, and for that matter, this pandemic, with their hearts intact. For the music of Slow Pulp is one of such purity and an unapologetic guilelessness. They are the real deal and dear listeners, in this world that carries so much artifice, Slow Pulp can more than supply enough of an antidote.

Congratulations are more than in order, especially now in this horrible, frighteningly dark year. A year in which Slow Pulp has emerged with an album that absolutely glistens!  

And when you hear it....PLAY LOUD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!