Aussie emo aficionados Slowly Slowly unveil their catchiest body of work to date with Forgiving Spree...
When the bittersweet first chord of Forgiving Spree's opening title-track hits, it’s clear that Slowly Slowly have grown in leaps and bounds since their gloomy emo-tinged debut Chamomile in 2016. Now on their fifth album, tight-knit radio-rock is the name of the game for Ben Stewart and co. – cutting away all the fat as they strive towards a snappy nine-song collection.
Somewhat of a natural but subtle step forward from 2022’s Daisy Chain – which made the Top Five in Australia – the bright, sun-kissed production is the shining star of Forgiving Spree. On Love Letters, Ben mourns the near-extinction of love letters in the digital age, celebrating their timeless value (‘She takes me everywhere / So when I’m gone I’m always there’) via a pure indie-pop chorus. Similar 2010s pop-rock tones return on That’s That, while Forgiving Spree explodes into arguably the record’s catchiest hook. 5 Seconds Of Who?
For all its surface-level optimism, Forgiving Spree contends with adversity beneath the flurry of major chords. Gimme The Wrench – the album’s eureka moment and lead single – is the first giant step towards climbing the mountain, capturing Ben’s anxieties as he prepared to launch himself into a new personal era: ‘Hanging on a life that is do or die.’ Meanwhile, Meltdown Masquerade – which is a tad more gnarly – addresses his former outbursts, emblematic of the maturity that has crept into his lyricism.
While Forgiving Spree isn’t exactly exploring a sound we can’t find elsewhere in the scene, its all-killer no-filler approach across just nine songs ensures the album isn’t drawn out towards rinse and repeat territory. Consistent in its production, Slowly Slowly have seen this vision through with the boldness of an artist whose peak is surely still to come.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: The XCERTS, Trophy Eyes, McFly
Forgiving Spree is released on January 24 via Nettwerk
