Quick-fire Questions: 10 minutes with Slow Pulp
Shoegaze is all the rage these days, and it’s easy to see why; not only does it offer some mellow escapism from the hectic modern world, but also, with fresh bands emerging like Slow Pulp, there’s heaps of sneaker staring quality about. Their sound is like fishing, an easy ride through the waves, drifting serenely until a hook wrestles your rapid attention. On the end of their rod, they’ve got fans in Butch Vig, Jimmy Eat World and Death Cab for Cutie.
Their latest singles ‘Slugs’ and ‘Cramps’ see them get a little grungier with their compositions with touches of distortion adding a bit of muscle to their pillow-propped choruses. With a new album ahead in September, their latest sampler implies that it will be a genre-mashing hit, liberated by the band’s growing confidence to sharpen things with a squeeze of lime but always safely resting on the assured knowledge that they have the toe-tapping nouse to grab you with a slap of melodic lyricism.
Speaking about this new creative impetus, Emily Massey explained the simplicity behind it: “‘Slugs’, put simply, is about falling in love in the summertime. The song lives in that place where the newness and freshness of getting to know someone turns into a tinge of fear because you realise how much you have come to care about them.”
Continuing: “I tend to get so overtaken in feelings of uncertainty or impermanence when it comes to relationships. Probably due to having rocky foundations or complications in them in the past. But suddenly, for the first time, I found myself in something that felt safe, with healthy attachment and mutual admiration, and the inevitability of uncertainty became more easily accepted. I think it’s so sweet that the song found this full circle moment in the timelessness of different types of firsts in love.”
It’s that youthful exuberance that adds a freshness to the songs. They are honest. So, we decided to see if Massey was similarly honest by firing some quick-fire questions their way. After all, when you’ve only got ten minutes to get to know someone, what better way to do it than pick their brains on ghosts, The Beatles, and surreal gigs in rapid succession. Enjoy…
Quick-fire Questions with Slow Pulp:
1. What song would you want played at your funeral?
“‘See You Later, I’m Gone’ by Robert Lester Folsom.”
2. Do you believe in ghosts?
“Yes. I went to a house showing with my parents when I was a kid at this big, old, decrepit house that once acted as a makeshift hospital for injured civil war soldiers. It had this horrible and dark energy there. We all saw curtains move and heard knocking from upstairs. The real estate agent was so stressed, she definitely had her work cut out for her.”
3. What cover song do you play the most in practice?
“Recently, I have been playing Aimee Man’s ‘Save Me’. I love her voice, and I feel like the range of that song helps me to warm up my vocals.”
4. If you had to get a lyric tattooed, what would it be?
“I probably wouldn’t get any words tattooed on me personally. But If I had to pick a lyric maybe it would be ‘It’s that little souvenir of a terrible year’ from ‘Here’s Where The Story Ends’ by The Sundays.”
5. Name your dream four-piece band?
- Guitar: Bernard Sumner (New Order)
- Drums: Butch Vig (Garbage)
- Bass/Guitar: Kim Deal (The Breeders)
- Vocals: Trish Keenan (Broadcast)
6. What is your most controversial cultural opinion?
“Pickles and peanut butter go well together, and I like watching the Kardashians.”
7. What was the first song you learnt to play?
“The first song I learned to play on guitar, and what is probably almost everyone I know who plays guitar first song was ‘Smoke on the Water’ by Deep Purple. But the first song I performed on guitar was ‘The Middle’ by Jimmy Eat World at a neighbourhood block party in a band with my dad.”
8. Have you ever had a strange celebrity encounter?
“We saw Richard Lewis from Curb Your Enthusiasm at a Chinese Restaurant we were playing at in LA once. He was not there for the show but to eat. Hope we didn’t ruin his dining experience.”
9. What is the weirdest gig you’ve ever played?
“I once played a set of mostly covers with my high school band at a ‘surrealist soiree’ at a circus-themed mansion in a small town in Wisconsin.”
10. What is your most prized piece of music kit?
“Although I never really play it anymore, I still love my first guitar I ever had. It is a cream 1980s Korean Squire Stratocaster that my dad surprised me with for my 10th birthday. He still has it at my parents’ house. So many sweet memories associated with that guitar.”
11. Who was your hero when you were 10 years old?
“Avril Lavigne.”
12. Can you recommend an album we might not have heard?
“There’s this band here in Chicago called Footballhead that just put out a record called Overthinking Everything that I have really been liking. It’s this super catchy, kinda pop-punk stuff with huge hooks. There is so much amazing music coming out of Chicago right now, I feel really lucky to live here.”
13. If you had to support any band right now, who would it be?
“Opening up for Slowdive would be amazing. I’m really excited to hear their new record. Slowdive with Slow Pulp feels right purely on the name.”
14. What’s your favourite song released so far this year?
“‘Smoke’ by Caroline Polachek.”
15. Are The Beatles overrated?
“Yes, no, but probably yes.”
