REVIEW: Slaves 'To Better Days'
Slaves debuted their newest album To Better Days on August 7, 2020, with SEVEN singles released ahead of the album.
Slaves released tracks that range from heavy to more melodic intones within those seven songs. Starting with the release of “Heavier” back in July 2019, the band has continued to showcase their new sound by following up with: "Prayers,” “Bury A Lie,” “Talk To A Friend,” “Wasting My Youth,” “Like I Do,” and most recently “Eye Opener.” Matt McAndrew, the new vocalist of Slaves, believes releasing so many singles before the album is important to get listeners engaged with what they are about to listen to.
As for the rest of the album, it is almost like a brand new sound, which McAndrew also told us was going to happen. Even the current members of Slaves almost think of themselves as a new band. They start the album with a strong instrumental opener with speaking in the background, which leads directly into "Prayers." The way the band has layered the album and their releases is smart. The listener will be able to hear new songs while also recognizing the singles that have already been released, though the listener has already heard over half of the 13-track album. This will hopefully help listeners stay engaged as they bounce between released and new songs from the album.
With several singles released, listeners know what to expect from the upcoming album. There won’t necessarily be the ultimate surprise song that can be nice to hear on an album, but the singles have definitely set the stage. The songs are quite cohesive and can be described as a bit melancholy. McAndrews describes the album as, “I think the whole record is just about relationships. Whether that’s romantic relationships or one with a friend or just one with yourself, a kind of inner monologue or a dialogue at times. A back and forth in your own mind.”
Some of the slower songs seem disconnected with the rest of the album and are a big switch after hearing multiple heavier songs; pun intended. It may just be that it’s not the same without Johnny Craig, but we are getting used to it. The first half of the album feels a bit stronger than the second half, which the band might have also felt since that’s where the majority of their singles came from. The second half is a bit lower, though they are still nice to listen to because you can hear McAndrew’s range.
It is no secret that this album is a new sound for the band, though musically it is similar to their past two albums. The process for writing the album was quite different where the band wrote all of the instrumental parts first and then McAndrew wrote the lyrics to fit the vibe of the song. In ways, this may feel a little disconnected for some songs or the two parts may not fully work together, though the band did a great job of gelling their two styles and voices.
The new sound of Slaves is here. During the quarantine, the band has continued writing, so hopefully we won’t have to wait a year after an album is written to hear it.