REVIEW: Slow Club - Yeah So

Slow Club - Yeah So
MMMM

Slow Club (aka Charles Watson and Rebecca Taylor) make the kind of music one might turn to in the wake of a break up, but not in the way you might think. Yeah So is a befitting title as these songs are more empowering than a sounding board for sorrow. Love is a serious thing, but it also comes and goes. The songs here might be about heartbreak and overcoming the pains of love, but that doesn’t at all limit their reach and appeal. They sing with an air of optimism and have soaring voices that can overcome it all.

As a two piece, they could easily be much more laid back and straightforward with their approach to song structure, but instead they possess a dynamic range. With hints of country, folk, rockabilly, indie, and pop, the duo uses distinctive styles to convey particular feelings. One of the most prominent strengths on this record is their sense of pacing. They know when to slow the pace and when to pick it back up again, displayed in the rhythm changes of “Trophy Room” and the seamless transition from the opening track, “When I Go,” into the electrifying energy of “Giving Up On Love.”

This record is also successful on account of its use of balance. The duo provides equal doses of those fragile moments through the lullaby-style acoustic songs (“Sorry About the Doom”) along with that more rollicking rockabilly spirit (“It Doesn’t Have To Be Beautiful”). Watson and Taylor have voices that are well-suited for one another, much like Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood on Nancy & Lee. They sound not as if they are singing to one another, but are instead singing of the same shared experience – Watson singing for the boy, Taylor singing for the girl. It is their constant harmonization that proves that strength comes in this balance, adding a more heartfelt depth to the album’s character. Both are like two (forlorn) lovers staring at the same moon, thinking the same thing.

Yeah So is a bold introductory statement, with enduring songs that we can all relate to at some level or another. What Yeah So says is that things come and go, but memories are everlasting. Success and failure are just different names for the same life lessons. It is an album that says we’re all in it together. As different as we might be, we all share something in the end.

BUY: Yeah So is out now on Moshi Moshi. Buy it here or here.

Slow Club @ MySpace
Moshi Moshi Records

ALSO...I came across a bunch of listings for one of Slow Club's appearances at this year's SXSW that read "March 20th - Barbarella (Moshi Moshi/Mixtape Muse/Wichita/Glitoris Party). For the record, none of us were at this year's SXSW and we were not involved with this show. I'm still scratching my head as to why our name was associated with this show and why this listing with our name appeared on multiple websites.