Music Spotlight: Sløtface

Mar 2

Mar 2 Music Spotlight: Sløtface

Pop-rock band Sløtface (pronounced “slutface”) recently released their sophomore album Sorry for the late reply, and the 13-track record is an impeccable blend of grungy punk + vibrant pop. The band, composed of vocalist Haley Shea, guitarist Tor-Arne Vikingstad, bassist Lasse Lokøy + drummer Nils Jørgen Nilsen, explores personal experiences, as well as current world issues. Sorry for the late reply proves to be a record that we can equally scream along (firing up our angsty feminist souls) + dance around to. We chatted with the band about the album, their sound + their musical influences.

Asymmetric Magazine: Congrats on your album release! Can you tell us all about Sorry For the Late Reply?
Sløtface: It’s our second full-length album as a band, and we’re really excited to have it out in the world. We had the pleasure to record it with our friend and stellar producer Odd Martin Skålned, and we had a blast making it. It also feels really good to have our second record out in the world. It’s almost like we’re a real band now!

AM: How does it compare to your first album Try Not To Freak Out?
S: This album is a bit more moody. It’s also simpler in a lot of ways, and we’ve stripped our songwriting back a bit to not over-complicate things (which we may have had a tendency to do as a band before). Lyrically, it’s more political, and the stories are more specific and personal than before.

AM: What’s your favorite part about the album creation process?
S: Getting to just focus on making something in a room together is really nice. Getting to have that time and space, and now resources to just be creative is truly special. Also, the fact that we get to work in gorgeous studios like Ocean Sound Recordings on the west coast of Norway, pretty much in the ocean, is a huge perk. It was really nice to be cooped up making stuff together in such a beautiful place.

AM: Are there any consistent themes you typically pursue through your music?
S: We write a lot about things we find confusing or upsetting, or things that make us nervous. A lot of our songs have a feminist angle. [We’re] trying to make rock songs that can be relatable to more people, and for this record we’ve written a lot about identity, what it means to belong somewhere, and the significance of family.

AM: For first time listeners, how do you like to describe your sound?
S: We’re a rock band that likes to put twists on things. We like our music to have a lot of energy, tell a story we hope people can relate to, and use music as a way to release frustration and anger about the way things sometimes are.

AM: What other musicians are you currently listening to?
S: We’re really into pretty much everything Pheobe Bridgers does. Better Oblivion Community Center, Boygenius, her solo stuff—we think she’s so inspiring as a songwriter and lyricist, and her stuff was a big influence on this record.

AM: What is something that inspires you outside of music?
S: Books, films, TV-shows, walks, all kinds of stuff. Haley, who writes the lyrics, is a bit of a TV addict, so a lot of stuff we write is inspired by TV. For instance, the Netflix show Ugly Delicious was one of the inspirations.

AM: How so?
S: The way David Chang talks about food and identity and family is something we were also trying to do with music on this record.

AM: Where is one place that you feel completely in touch with your creative self and your music?
S: In the rehearsal space as a band. We’ve all kind of grown up in spaces like that and found our voices and ways we communicate there. I think we all feel like we can just be ourselves there.

AM: What can we expect to hear from you next?
S: We’re toying a lot these days with making an acoustic EP of some of our songs. We’d love to be able to present them in a more quiet and stripped back way, as well, so hopefully that will happen this year. Also, we’re prepping for a European tour in February and March that we’re getting very excited about.