Ladies and gentlemen, Slothrust are back with their sixth full-length album, What They Grow In The Garden, and in my humble opinion, it is the most powerful release they have put out in the past decade. Frontwoman Leah Wellbaum has always had a direct and emotionally charged style of songwriting, but on this new album, she is charged with a impassioned ferocity. Something I’ve always loved about the band is their ability to produce quirky, witty, and playful rock music that can simultaneously be very heartfelt. The album was released September 19 via Equal Vision Records, and it is the first album the band have put out as a honed duo.
There’s so much clever commentary weaved throughout the album, you can’t listen to it without it provoking thought and consideration into our current state of being. It has very blatant political overtones in terms of the thematic arch of the album. It feels as if the pent-up frustration has boiled over. There are countless references to the ways in which our capitalist society is growing ever more dystopian, including our food, our healthcare, and our education systems. It’s not one of those mindless albums you put on in the background; there’s an element of intentional listening that goes along with it to really take in the full scope.
The album opens with a somber piano intro on “Dissolve the Delusion,” and without any vocals whatsoever, it really sets the tone of the album. I think the choice to open the album this way invites the listener to ease into it with an open mind and continue with their ear to the ground, to stay attune with purpose. It then jumps into “Burn The Deck” and immediately shifts to a much quicker pace. This song clearly points to the many ways in which society is surviving under the guise of our institutions as they persistently cheat us out of our own autonomy. Some lyrics that stuck out are “Take your pills/Super clever … Break the dichotomy/When no one is watching … Do you eat what they grow in the garden?/How about when the fruit’s full of poison?” At the core of not only this song, but much of the album as a whole, is the idea of exploitation.
There’s a very identifiable guitar riff that Wellbaum trickles into each album at one point or another that is quintessential Slothrust and it makes an appearance in track “00101001” at the 45-second mark. For long-term fans of the band, they will know exactly what I’m talking about, and you can’t help but curl a small smile when you hear it for the first time. Something that astounds me about the evolution of this band is that despite going from a threesome to a duo, nothing is lost in terms of the technicalities of their instrumentation. Will Groin is consistent and resolute in his energetic drumming, while Wellbaum is a well-rounded force to be reckoned with who doesn’t just sing and write lyrics, but also composes for and plays the guitar for the band. Together, the two of them are as dynamic as any full-fledged band.
One of my favorite songs off What They Grow In The Garden and arguably one of the most affecting is “Ring The Bell.” It has a really fun guitar riff that kicks it off and as it plays out, it has a very roller coaster layout to it where it slows and softens before it picks back up again. I think it has all the elements of what makes an ideal rock song. And as for its lyrical content, it continues to emphasize the archetype that they are pushing, which is for people to remove their rose colored glasses and stand up to the powers that be. “Dead doom dopamine/Forgot nothing was as it seemed/Cut up puppet strings/Braid easily/Big boss overdrive/Collective conscious rotten hive/Disconnect stay alive/And reject what they say matters.” These words are palpable and I think they create some kind of profound meaning to anyone that hears them.
But don’t get me wrong, this album is not just doom and gloom by any means. Slothrust have been referring to this album and its current tour cycle as dystopian theater and it could not resonate in a better way. One song that epitomizes that idea really well is “Hearst Castle” with its circus like instrumentals and playful timbre. Overall, the album creates a stage for facing our inner-most anxieties about the world but in a way that lets us break the walls down without fear, almost in a way that’s comical because after all, tragedy and comedy go hand in hand. I liked this album the first time I heard it, but to be honest I really grew to love it the more I sat with it and listened to it more intently while taking in every facet of each song, it’s one you can appreciate even more after letting it simmer.
