Slowly Slowly’s ‘Race Car Blues’ Has Arrived
Slowly Slowly are already having a huge year – despite being less than a month into it. Coming on the heels of a massive 2019, with four single releases and their sold-out Jellyfish Tour throughout Australia. Their 2019 single ‘Jellyfish’ cracked the Triple J Hottest 100, landing at #57 – a huge achievement in the hyper-competitive Australian music scene. Without pausing for breath the band announced their upcoming album ‘Race Car Blues’ (available February 28), a much anticipated follow-up to their 2018 record ‘St. Leonards.’ This announcement came with the release of the title track, and accompanying music video. They have since announced an Australia wide album tour, and seem poised to take the world by storm in 2020.
The band isn’t beating around the bush with their newest single, ‘Race Car Blues.’ Forgoing any instrumental intro and diving right into the action, lead singer Ben Stewart’s reliably emotive and imagery driven lyricism captures the listener from the first second.
Vignette eyes, race car blues
I miss myself, my friends do too
With lyrics like
We shut the blinds, tipped the scales
Hung from every picture rail
I read my script from your palm
Wrote a million little songs
– Alchemy
Stewart’s gift for unexpected imagery combined with raw, personal truths, is perhaps his greatest asset as a songwriter.
Featuring simple and largely repeated lyrics, the emotional drive of the song relies heavily on its delivery – which is unquestionably achieved through Stewart’s vocals and the drive of the instrumentals throughout. The switches from the song’s high intensity pulse to subdued moments are achieved with grace, each serving to draw the audience further into the track. Patrick Murphy on the drums is a particular highlight of the song, with a simple but driving pulse that builds throughout the track, and some great fills towards the end.
One of the greatest strengths of the band is their capacity to not only feel the story they’re telling, but completely take their listeners along for the ride. Through simple refrains in the song such as ‘I don’t wanna go,’ the amping up of the drums and featured guitar riff, paired with the raw lead vocal, leads every word to land like a punch in the gut for the audience, while managing to never feel contrived. Similarly, the choice to include Stewart singing the final lines of the song a capella, and catching his breath at the end of the track achieves a powerful connecting moment between the listener and the band, somewhat akin to the initial audiences of ‘Psycho’ being left in silence for 30 seconds after the conclusion of the film, to indelibly etch what they just experienced into their minds, the listeners here are left to sit with the compelling emotion of the song for a few more seconds.
Though the song is lyrically repetitive, the lyrics themselves are raw and powerful, with no filler lines or wasted time to be found in them. Nobody could call the simplicity of the decision lazy, as every syllable in the song serves its purpose. The hugely emotional, impactful delivery is what makes this song, and it is clear from the outset that every person involved in its production knew it.
Overall, ‘Race Car Blues’ is a huge success for Slowly Slowly, a clear new chapter in the story they’re telling, and has set the stage perfectly for what is sure to be a phenomenal year for the band.