Forgiving Spree is the anthemic fifth studio album from Australian indie rockers Slowly Slowly.
By Graeme Smith
With the band’s latest album, frontman and songwriter Ben Stewart wanted “a solid rock album with no filler,” and I have to say mission accomplished. With influences that include The Killers, Bruce Springsteen, and Pale Waves, you can expect something anthemic from this album.
Written across Melbourne, Australia and Los Angeles, USA with the help of Courtney Ballard, Suzy Shinn, and Jonathan Gilmore, it reflects Ben’s life changes over the past few years. The album’s title track opens things in powerful and reflective fashion, summing up the collection nicely in terms of sound and content. It’s a strong start.
Across another eight tracks, the album doesn’t let up. Even intimate and confessional moments like Gimme the Wrench, Hurricane and Love Letters have a stadium-filling sound about them. Meanwhile bright and poppy moments like How Are You Mine?, All Time and That’s That provide plenty of catharsis. Meltdown Masquerade and Born Free ends things with edgy rock and gentle melancholia respectively.
With their fifth album, Slowly Slowly are showing no signs of slowing down. There’s some beautifully emotive storytelling in its lyrics, and the decision to keep things big sonically has paid off. These songs with go down well live. An upcoming European tour sees the band coming to the UK with a stop at Leeds’ Key Club alongside dates in Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, and London. Tickets are available for all dates here.
Forgiving Spree is out now via Nettwerk. You can give it a listen below.