MASTER SLASH SLAVE
"Slummin" single
(2007; Free News Projects)
Master Slash Slave's expansive songwriting and disparate textural elements explode off of their new 7" single, "Slummin." The track begins with a 60's garage rock groove, while Matt Jones sings about work and the grimy nuances of dense city life like an urban existentialist.
The second verse opens up to a heavier sonic terrain, and you can feel the heat as the intense and abstract vocals are shouted over the sizzling sound of Brian Martinez's hi-hat 16th notes. Brian's drumming is phenomenal on this record: his funky and punishing style is filled with feeling and is totally danceable.
At the song's midpoint we're treated to a taste of Master Slash Slave's programmed synthesizers. The synths add a baroque parlor sound which lightens the mood before rebuilding momentum. Matt sings of a failed relationship that can't be solved on the putrid city streets, and his voice is on the verge of cracking as the song crescendos. Lush layers of synths soar through the midrange, the drums pummel almost out of control, and that dirty guitar shouts itself to a hoarse distortion as the song comes to its close.
The flip side gives us "High Heels," an acoustic guitar and synth song about failed romance and over-indulgence. Matt sings of the history of a relationship that seemed doomed from the start: Its a bummer when the guy who's learned to talk, charm, and buy his way to any solution is crushed by a woman who just won't stay. But perhaps it’s her own fault, tripping on her high heels as it were, and there's nothing he can do about it. And yet he stares out at the ocean for a ship that never arrives.
Grab a copy of this beautiful colored vinyl single and get excited for their forthcoming full length.
The second verse opens up to a heavier sonic terrain, and you can feel the heat as the intense and abstract vocals are shouted over the sizzling sound of Brian Martinez's hi-hat 16th notes. Brian's drumming is phenomenal on this record: his funky and punishing style is filled with feeling and is totally danceable. 