Slum Summer - Radio Drive
We first featured Slum Summer back in November 2018 describing them as a vibrant indie rock band. The two songs featured from the new album confirm all of that and more, they really do impress! From San Diego, CA, and made up of two British expatriates along with two US natives we can comfortably quote them as "a special relationship - a special new band."
Living in Milk is their second album, following up their 2019 debut, ABABO. Standing out from 99% of recent releases, this is NOT a pandemic album, having been written and recorded before all that happened, and, refreshingly, featuring no songs about isolation, staring at walls, craving human contact, etc. Instead you will find songs about houses being engulfed in flame, houses being choked by snow, hotels suffocated by storms; songs about riding the Greyhound into northern California, desperately hiding out in dilapidated cinemas; songs about dying in prison, and about listening drunkenly to the Grateful Dead. Or maybe you'll come to your own conclusions what the songs are "about," if that even matters to you.
The record builds on the sound of their debut, with indie-rock and indie-pop styles being stretched out in different directions, drawing on 60s guitar jangle, moments of punkish abandon, Laurel Canyon folk-rock balladeering, and occasional diversions into more metallic territory. You can certainly listen to the album and make some guesses about what their record collections might look like, but Slum Summer is developing a sound and style that is distinctly their own. The supple playing from guitarist Jen Edwards, drummer D.J. Anderson and bassist Grant Stewart underpins guitarist/singer Hugh J. Noble's unique writing, cryptic and rich with obscure references, strange half-jokes, and oddly unsettling imagery.
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Radio Drive featuring Kevin Gullickson had just released a full album in September of 2021, titled “Before The Day is Through”. It was still the early winter months of 2022 in Minnesota, where Kevin lives and has his home studio.
The timing wasn’t quite right to resume live performances, so Kevin being the ever busy musician, songwriter and recording artist, decided to record some new song ideas before the arrival of spring. He didn’t want to undertake such a huge project as a full album and yet had too many songs to just release a single, so a 4 song EP was the perfect option.
Looking for more of a pop feel to the album, Kevin worked with Steve “Mr Mig” Migliore to do the final mix and mastering. Steve has worked with several platinum selling artists, including Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce and Madonna
The four songs each have a different feel and meaning.
• I Believe I Believe: A song of faith and hope, something we all need.
• Moment by Moment: Cherishing the precious moments we have with our loved ones.
• Be Yourself Tonight: So many difficulties people deal with can be resolved by becoming their true and authentic self.
• Don’t You Know: The deep commitment of love drawing out the best in someone.
Before the official release of the EP on August 5th, 2022, songs were already gaining attention. “Don’t You Know” won the Top Finalist Award for Best Rock Song by the World Songwriting Association (WSA).
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