Slothbear is probably the most unusual band name I’ve heard in a while, but their sound is refreshingly familiar.
Drawing from the genre known as college rock, Slothbear’s debut EP Qids aims to solve a listener’s case of nostalgia rather than their yearning for something new.
While the opener on this album, “No Dialogue”, is easily ignored, the second track, “White Christmas”, is a catchy number full of high energy-vocals, a variety of guitar licks and a youthful attitude. Contrary to its title, the song actually has nothing to do with snow, but focuses on the mishaps that seem to occur during the holiday season.
“Don’t Taunt a Tiger” continues the trend of upbeat tunes. Reminiscient of early Weezer’s power-pop sound, “Don’t Taunt a Tiger” contains hardcore percussion numbers and hints of electric folk.
Straying from upbeat and finding itself a little out of place is “Spacey”. Taking a road I would expect from some of the more psychedelic bands, this track is slightly distorted and filled with dreamy guitar progressions. It’s a smooth listen though.
The standout on this album is “Little Qid”. There’s a little instrumental distortion present on this track as well, but the vocals are clear and honest, mirroring the lyrics. This is one of those numbers that sounds awesome with the array of instrumentals present on the recorded side of things, but could be beautiful as a live acoustic number.
A few tracks later, I stumbled upon “Djam”. The intro to this number is definitely jarring, especially after being preceded by “Olio”. While “Olio” certainly isn’t a ballad, it’s slower than some of the other tracks and ends with what almost sounds like chanting… then, all of a sudden, “Diam” kicks off with a mesh of instrumentals.
The downside to this album, aside from some of the not-so-smooth transitions, is its length. Sitting around 61 minutes, this is a pretty lengthy debut, so it really doesn’t leave you wanting more. However, it does leave you satisfied on a larger scale.
Slothbear’s debut Qids earns them a 6.8, because it’s a pleasant listen for the most part. It just needs a bit of cleanup.
