{"id":9779,"date":"2023-10-18T19:37:04","date_gmt":"2023-10-18T18:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipamusic.co.uk\/?p=9779"},"modified":"2023-10-18T19:37:07","modified_gmt":"2023-10-18T18:37:07","slug":"slalom-d-kick-the-notion-of-a-difficult-second-album-into-touch-with-waltz-into-anarchy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipamusic.co.uk\/?p=9779","title":{"rendered":"Slalom D kick the notion of a ‘difficult second album’ into touch with Waltz Into Anarchy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ALBUM REVIEW: Slalom D – Waltz Into Anarchy (Serial Bowl Records)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

It’s a well-worn adage that bands who have released a fine debut album often struggle with their second.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years of ideas and creativity are poured into the first, while the follow-up can prove more troublesome, as bands seek to move on musically, or simply try to avoid making the same record again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nobody seems to have told Sunderland punk band Slalom D about second album syndrome. Or if they did, they stuck two fingers up at them and cracked on anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waltz Into Anarchy<\/em> is the D’s second album, and their first for local DIY punk and hardcore label Serial Bowl.<\/em> It comes two years after their self-released debut, Happy Skies<\/em> (reviewed here<\/a><\/strong>), an album so good it topped my 2021 end of year Top 40 rundown<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The four-piece have become five since then, adding Andrew ‘Goober’ Scobie on synths, and he fills out their often cacophonous sound even more – as if it needed it!<\/p>\n\n\n

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Slalom D appearing at Rebellion Festival in 2023. Pic by Gary Welford.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Slalom D wear their hearts and politics on their sleeves, unashamedly opinionated, left-wing, anti-fascist and proudly working class. Regulars on the North East gig circuit, they’ve expanded their fanbase considerably with appearances at the last two Rebellion festivals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s easy to see why they’re one of the best up and coming bands on the punk scene; with a sound harking back to Killing Joke and the Dead Kennedys, but with their own distinctive twist, they’re a force to be reckoned with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Producer Phil Jackson has again done a tremendous job of making Slalom D sound good; Iain Murray’s drums have been brought right up in the mix, but Tony Lindstedt’s bass and Gary Roberts’ coruscating riffs still have space to be heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The beating heart of Slalom D is vocalist Fiona Duncan, who has a strident voice, offering passion and compassion in equal measure, to go with an impressive stage presence.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Slalom D singer Fiona Duncan. Pic by Gary Welford.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

There’s no gentle introduction to Waltz Into Anarchy<\/em>, it’s straight down to business with Red<\/em>, which slams the senses and demands to be heard, while Empire <\/em>is more of the same, driven along by juddering bass, thunderous drums, and haunting synths as it celebrates the end of British imperialism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Title track Waltz Into Anarchy<\/em> warns of the end of things as we know them, while lead single The Burning Days<\/em> reminds us that the ‘good old days’ maybe weren’t so wonderful after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

L’appel Du Vide<\/em> describes the impulse to hurl yourself into a void – something we’ve probably all felt like doing as we watch the world around us turn to shit. It’s full of chugging guitar and menacing bass, and I like this song more every time I listen to it.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Slalom D at Rebellion Festival in Blackpool in 2023. Pic by Gary Welford.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Cat And Dogs<\/em>, which comes next, is right up there with Slalom D’s very best songs. Nominally about a place on their hometown’s shore, where the river meets the sea, it’s about looking back with rose-tinted specs as Fi sings: “Here’s to all innocence lost, here’s to our dead river”<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s even better to come as Cold <\/em>delivers a damning verdict on the Tories’ handling of health and energy crises: “Keep your loved ones safe from harm, protect them if they’re old? We want to keep you safe, so we can kill you with the cold.”<\/em> Powerful stuff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gen X is another standout track which will resonate with anyone born between 1965-1980 as they mourn their lost youth and the onset of middle or old age. “Have we really had our time, ‘cos we’ve all had a blast?\/No use looking back, when the past is in the past”.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Slalom D bassist Tony Lindstedt at Rebelllion 2023. Pic by Gary Welford.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

As a Gen X-er myself, these words ring so true, as do the lines: “How did it all go by so fast, we’ve still got so much left to say?\/We are the Generation X, are we even relevant today?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discordance <\/em>is another song which sees Slalom D at full throttle. It’s about seeking harmony in a world of dischord, and it’s probably the song which would probably fit best on the previous album.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The lyric “What happened to the songs we used to sing along, together all as one?”<\/em> has never sounded more appropriate, with division everywhere you look.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Slalom D are now a five-piece and sound more powerful than ever. Pic by Gary Welford.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Slalom D sing about weighty subjects, but show they have a sense of humour too with Soldier On<\/em>, which insists “This is a happy song, no complaining here, we’re smiling all the time, there’s no time for tears”<\/em>. Ok, Fi, we believe you!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s almost time to say goodbye, which leaves Sound of Her Wings<\/em>, which at five and a half minutes is not only one of the longest songs they’ve done, but also one of the most different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There’s an elegiac quality to the first half of the song, which sounds like it’s mourning the loss of a loved one, before the anger kicks in and things get heavier before reaching an almost hymnal denouement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waltz Into Anarchy<\/em> is a very different album to Happy Skies<\/em>, but every bit its equal, particularly the second half, which contains some of their very best work so far. Do yourself a favour and get into the D. 9\/10.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n