Slowlight

Slowlight [EP] (2015)

devferry

On their Bandcamp page, Glasgow UK's Slowlight describe themselves as "taking influences from 90's punk bands and other stuff and making it into songs," a minimalist description of their songwriting that I can only half agree with. While they most certainly take influence from the '90s (probably more late '90s/early 2000s), their sound seems much more aligned with the post-hardcore of that time than punk. At the Drive In, Bear vs Shark and Q and Not U were all bands that came to mind during my first listen. The cover art of the EP even has a close similarity to Thursday's Full Collapse.

However, even with the obvious comparisons present, Slowlight's music is able to stand out on its own. This is largely due to the vocals, which are shared between guitarist Colin O'Hara and bassist Beth Black. Both voices are strong enough to carry a song solo but also blend nicely, a rare occurrence when it comes to the guy/girl vocal combination. And while most of the songs feature O'Hara's screamy lead vocals (think ATDI-era Cedric Bixler-Zavala) with Black offering melody underneath, the EP's high water mark is the song "Repeat the Pattern," where the roles are reversed. Also, if there is any punk influence at all, it's that the songs are refreshingly short, powerful and to the point.

Altogether the four piece, rounded out by guitarist Neil Jarvie and drummer Steven Hill, have created a solid first offering. Fans of the aforementioned bands or post hardcore in general should give it a listen and at a total running time of about 12 minutes, the EP will leave you wanting more from Slowlight, which hopefully we'll get soon.