Slaves, The Velvet Ditch, EP Review
Slaves
EP Review
I have been very fond of east-end London punk duo Slaves ever since they made a torrential splash with their 2015 album Are You Satisfied?, which I would regard as one of the most impactful albums of the decade.
Since then, the test of time has unfortunately not been too kind to Slaves, as their two following efforts, 2016's Take Control and 2018's Acts of Fear and Love seemed very promising on the surface when I first listened to them, I found that both eventually went very stale, very fast.
I could appreciate these two albums for trying to evolve a little more stylistically, but it still felt quite unnatural and a little all-over-the-place.
To accompany their upcoming UK tour (including their first Brighton show in years), Slaves also dropped a four-track EP, titled The Velvet Ditch, which continues down the path of experimentation, but somehow feels much more true to their traditional sound in parts.
The fact that this EP was only four tracks long did have me worried at first, as the last four-track EP I reviewed, Agenda by Pet Shop Boys... hasn't exactly stood the test of time too well.
However, I was both surprised and pleased to find that this EP has a very interesting dynamic, where the first hals has some of their most intense tracks to date, while the other half has some of the most laid-back tracks in the slaves discography. It's a clash of opposites which in turn, satisfies all parties.
I also feel that a small EP was a good strategy for Slaves. By releasing The Velvet Ditch, the group are updating their musical catalogue, without shovelling into our ears a load of frankly rushed tracks.
Given that this is a minimal EP, there isn't a whole load to say about the tracks individually. However, I feel the first half of this EP ("One More Day Won't Hurt" and "It Makes Me Sick") is by far the strongest, and I would argue it stylistically goes even further past being similar to Are You Satisfied?, and instead goes back to the days of their debut record, Sugar Coated Bitter Truth.
"One More Day Won't Hurt" especially is a highly enjoyable track. It makes sense that Laurie stated this track "didn't fit the landscape of their third album"; because this track is far superior.
The second half is where things mellow down. And while I can appreciate "When Will I Learn?" as a truly unique and, at a push, gorgeous track that exemplifies the experimentation the most, I would have to say that the title track is certainly the weakest. It was a little too repetitive for me, and I feel that is unfortunately how I have felt towards a lot of recent Slaves material.
All in all, this EP may prove to be the beginning of a big Slaves revival, where we could see the band bouncing back with some more material that is as impactful as Are You Satisfied?
This EP does feel like its testing my adamancy that Slaves are slowly wilting, and that really does excite me. I truly and sincerely hope that this EP has a longer lasting enjoyability than the last two Slaves albums, but only time will tell.
Thank you for reading.
Booth Boy
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