Artist: Slow Club
Album: Paradise
Label: Moshi Moshi
Rating: 4
Rebecca Taylor and Charles Watson of Slow Club make magic on their sophomore album aptly titled Paradise.
The indie-pop band from Sheffield, England seems to have grown up; while their first album Yeah So, was a romantic indie folk delight, Paradise takes on a deeper, darker tone.
Rebecca’s playful voice lends the straightforward but poignant lyrics a wistful tone. Watson’s role as guitar player and accompanying vocalist seems to fit him well.
The hit single from the album, “Two Cousins”, seems like a meandering road as it follows two estranged cousins. Taylor’s girlish voice makes the theme of separation and lost relationships evocative and starkly ironic. The song’s heart wrenching chorus, “Hold on/To where you’re from/It’s where your heart goes/When you’re done” evokes a longing for home.
The lyrics are simple and direct – effective in their honesty.
The band’s shift in tone from cute love ballads to more serious themes indicates a progression into musical adolescence – a higher rung on a very tall ladder.
Give these tracks a listen: “Two Cousins”
For Fans Of: Beach House, Passion Pit, The Department of Eagles and Devendra Banhart.
– Sasha Sharma
