Slothrust—Of Course You Do

Review by Luis A. Apolaya

Amid the unabashed guitar, anxious drums, and jumpy bass playing in the Brooklyn-based band’s sophomore effort one can feel a sense of strange fun. It is reminiscent of the Pixies: sometimes the vocalist sings à la Black Francis, the guitarist can be just as adventurous as Joey Santiago, and the lyrics are sprinkled with dark humor. For everyone nostalgic about the days before Kurt Cobain met his fate, this is an awesome listen. Recommended: pick a track, any track. RIYL Pixies, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nirvana, White Stripes. FCCs on track 3.

**1. (2:59) This one will make your head nod, very fun rocker, awesome guitar and good play of dynamics, great start.
**2. (2:53) Bluesy, belligerent fuck-the-world attitude, fun when played loud.
***3. (5:26) FCC “shit”, “motherfucker”. Soft acoustic guitar intro for first half-minute, Pixies dynamics (soft melody with loud interludes), fun nonsensical lyrics, this is more a listening experience than another song in the album, amazing.
***4. (2:44) More Pixies dynamics, guitar riffs feel happy, drums and bass make me want to move around as I listen, great track.
**5. (4:02) Moderate tempo, culminates in an inclusive chorus, feels like something played at a pub to make everyone sing along, feel-good mood.
RECOMMENDED TO PLAY 6 AND 7 TOGETHER
***6. (3:40) Part 1 of 2, motif of electric guitar harmonics, makes use of different tempos and volumes throughout, play loud and proud, slows down by the end, finishes very abruptly, makes more sense to play with track 7.
***7. (4:58) Part 2 of 2, (can be played by itself), acoustic guitar version of riff in track 6, also plays with tempos and volumes, trumpets and strings can be heard by the end to create epic feeling, finishes with guitar riff.
8. (3:15) Nice rocker, makes use of Doors-like synth organ, more Pixies dynamics, for some reason does not feel as compelling as the rest of the album.
**9. (4:05) Very bluesy, could pass for a White Stripes B-side (if there weren’t so much bass), great rocker, relentless vocalist, another one to play loud.
**10. (5:28) Band plays with dynamics and instrumentation, really fun listen, Beowulf references are pretty comical, ends with dissonant piano, feels like something the band wrote just to have a good time playing it.