Seemingly forever in a touring cycle, the eternal nomads in Slow Crush have been the brightest beacon in shoegaze for a while now. Their last release being 2021’s Hush and after many miles travelled they have returned with Thirst, an emphatic exclamation point bringing a tectonic weight to a sound which has glistened and soared high into the atmosphere for years, but now hits the earth with meteoric impact.
Slow Crush are a conduit of consistency, having circled the earth many times bringing their glowing rendition of shoegaze twinkling and glistening into the consciousness of listeners. Thirst hits with more of a thud and crash from the very beginning. The title tracks opening snare sets us off into immediate ascension with a heaviness echoing deep emotionally exploration, where over the past four years the toil of constant touring is worn on the sleeve, with no more tears to shed and every fibre of human fragilities brutal delicacy felt to its fullest.
“If Hush was the light shower of audio delicacy then Thirst is sonic thunder, Hollidays vocals are the whispers of a merciful god raining down musings on emotional human complexities.”
Producer Lewis Johns (Rolo Tomassi, Svalbard) has executed the balance of grit to their trademark elegance into something which feels comfortably in the same space as Hum with huge riffs and gracefully hushed vocals synergising into something of mammoth size. Even though perceptions will focus on a new found aggression in their music still emanates warmth, acting as a cloak upon the shoulders to comfort and keep close where the vocals of Isa Holliday wrap around you and sink gently into the mind. Her voice is just as soothing as it is poignant, gliding upon and above the albums unyielding textures.
The abrasive nature of Thirst only makes the moments of weightlessness even more impactful. ‘Leap’ takes off with riffs of jet fuelled acceleration with an alternative metal quality but Hollidays wistful vocals cushion you into a safe space to be present and soak up the atmosphere. The dissonance in ‘Haven’ created by the warble of the bass ringing out and the eerie guitar melodies hold up Hollidays voice aloft to help create an eclipse of sound which swallows up all below in a glorious inevitability. Even a surprising saxophone appearance during the optimistic second half of ‘Covet’ is woven into the songs tapestry beautifully to create new moods and a sense of new avenues being explored.
If Hush was the light shower of audio delicacy then Thirst is sonic thunder, Hollidays vocals are the whispers of a merciful god raining down musings on emotional human complexities. Slow Crush continue to dive further into their own evolution, transmitting every experience gathered from those long stretches on the road and harnessing it into the albums gravitational pull until a tidal wave of unimaginable presence washes over you. Although injected with a more sinister and ominous nature It still carries itself as a lucid experience but more vacuum packed with focus and detail instead of left to drift and wade into familiar shoegaze tropes. Their Pure Noise Records debut feels like a monumental flag planted in the heart of the genre, it feels daring and charged with reverb coated authenticity and live this October they grace the UK with Som and Blanket and its not to be missed.