A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Overtime 12” EP by SLIP~ons. It might read as being anti-climactic but, on SLIP~ons’ new Overtime EP, the Vancouver-based band establishes that its last release was not intended to establish any new musical directions for them to later explore or anything like that – the band was just being who it is, and it happened to be captured on tape. The proof is apparent on this new Overtime EP, because the band does exactly the same thing, again; as the band did before, SLIP~ons knock out seven solid rock songs with no spectacular developments, no ridiculous acts of self-indulgence and no presence of “Gee whiz!” spectacle. Once again, the band simply offers fans some more of the sound which qualifies as essential for the band’s existence. Simply said, those listeners who were won by the band on their last release will be won all over again.
As soon as stylus touches down, finds its groove and Overtime‘s title track opens the A-side of this EP, those fans who were won over by SLIP~ons’ previous output (particularly 2023’s Heavy Machinery EP ) will know that they came to the right place. Right off, the band ensnares listeners’ attention with a guitar and drum performance that seems designed to inspire worry and unease in much the same way that Matt Good did in the more uptempo moments of Beautiful Midnight, but it is contrasted here when singer/guitarist Brock Pytel enters the mix with a completely different kind of presence. Lines like, “The battleship has left the harbour now/ Breathed his last/In a Honda/ Full of silver/ Behind the London Drug/ On Hastings Street” actually match the sense of unease – but the vocal itself will leave listeners off-balance; they won’t know what to do or how to feel – they’ll simply be held in place. It’s actually really amazing to observe with the benefit of a bit of distance but, in that moment, the sensation is worrisome and when listeners make that realization, they’ll also find themselves hooked. That hook will get them more invested in the talk of hockey games and Montreal and (yes) overtime and, when the song closes with a barre of guitar which really leaps forward in the mix, listeners will find that the restraint that characterizes the second cut on the side, “Waiting For Johnny Marr,” doesn’t catch listeners quite as well as its predecessor did(the leaner mix which is more focussed on bass and talking about “needing a superhero” doesn’t add to the ground that “Overime” won), but the major chords that the song’s bridge shifts to as well as the guitar solo that the band mixes in keep the cut from failing irredeemably, and so it flows smoothly into the far more agitated and passionate energy of “New Answers”.
Important note regarding “New Answers”: while the song is undeniably the most uptempo cut on the EP, a valid case could be made for the fact that it’s the best song in tis running. While the vocals are definitely more melodramatic than any others on the EP (lines like, “New answers – fighting someone every day/ New answers – who tolerates intolerance?” rank as some of the most grounded and valid of this decade to date), they’re also some of the most surprisingly and profoundly affecting – and that they’re coupled with some very “Sloan-y” vocal addictions (like “ba da ba”)causes them to stick to listeners’ collective mental pleasure centres like they coated in super glue and, when the song runs out after three minutes and fifty-eight seconds, listeners will know that the song is perfectly unforgettable – particularly when “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” follows with a lyric sheet comprised of nothing more than the song’s title repeated ad nauseum follows it to close the side.
While saying that the A-side of the Overtime EP ends on a challenging note really only expresses a gift for understatement, the going picks up right away on the B-side as “Graystone” opens the play there. On “Graystone” itself, SLIP~ons open with some unapologetically “classic rock” posturing before locking into some Police-esque British rock styling; the presentation of dramatic, descending vocal melodies are the way that listeners will find their way in, and the parts interlock to make sure the song is catchy enough to find its way into the “shower-singing” times of those who hear it. “Nerve Damage” follows a very similar, “kind of classic” style, but SLIP~ons’ secret weapon is the change-up that they offer to close up both the B-side and the EP as a whole, “Fading Smile.” There, with an almost sheepish demeanor, SLIP~ons cross-wire the kind of heartache and muscular rhythm that Gaslight Anthem turned platinum at one time and, even though the band stumbles a little when they needlessly change keys and try to “catch a falling knife,” they still end pretty strongly with an abbreviated lead guitar piece and a hard close.
That aforementioned close in “Fading Smile” is honestly one of the greatest surprises about the song and, by extension, the EP. It’s good enough and had just the right kind of hook, and listeners will find themselves reaching out and wishing there was more music to find. Granted, not every cut is as good as fans wished they could be, but that there is still room for improvement will have listeners coming back when SLIP~ons return with another release, and they’ll still remember these songs warmly too. [Bill Adams]
Artist:
http://slip-ons.ca/slip-ons/
https://www.facebook.com/slip.ons.band/
https://slip-ons.bandcamp.com/album/heavy-machinery-ep
https://www.instagram.com/sliponsvancouver/
Further Reading:
Vinyl Vlog 624 – SLIP~ons – Heavy Machinery EP
Album:
SLIP~ons’ Overtime EP is out now. Buy it here on SLIP~ons’ bandcamp page.
