Slothrust – What We Grow In The Garden
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Equal Vision
You can’t hear it in my voice because you’re reading this on an electronic communication device of some sort, but trust me, I am in full Riot Fest recovery mode. If you’re not tapped into online music festival discourse, you may have missed that Day 3 of the annual Chicago punk gathering was full of nothing but rain and mud that got progressively worse throughout the operating hours. Before all that happened, though, at around two in the afternoon on Day 2, I caught LA-via-Boston band Slothrust crush the smallest of the five stages, fresh off the one-day-old release of their latest LP, What We Grow In The Garden.
Slothrust has been rocking the alternative scene for almost fifteen years, and came across my radar back in 2016 on their album Everyone Else. For one reason or another, I’ve missed everything Slothrust has been doing since, but I've always remembered their name. When I saw them pop up on this year’s Riot Fest lineup, I thought it would be a great opportunity to check in. When I discovered them, their sound was much more rooted in easy-going indie rock, with flourishes of punk and grunge, but a decade later they’ve evolved far past that and onto a new label home.
For What We Grow In The Garden, their first record for legendary punk, hardcore-and-more label Equal Vision, Slothrust is turning up the guitars, slicking up the production, and taking the next step toward becoming a rock festival staple. “Burn The Deck” and “Smile” are heavy alternative rockers that you could throw in any playlist alongside acts like PVRIS, Spiritbox, or Stand Atlantic. Guitarist/vocalist Leah Wellbaum isn’t shy about throwing the hooks in as well, and they shine on “Ring The Bell” and “Twisted Paradise.” The band gives a new spin on math rock with “00101001,” and strikes an appropriately sinister autumnal chord on “What A Night,” just two of the many tracks here that show the band’s musical breadth.
This album is the sound of a band naturally maturing into their next stage, not just growing in a garden, but planting themselves for long-term staying power in the alternative landscape. Slothrust is for the old heads who think that rock music can’t become popular again, and for younger listeners who may only know the guitar-less music at the top of the streaming charts. What We Grow In The Garden truly has something for everyone: a universal rock record that stays current without being unapproachable.
