War Dance – why you need to ‘Listen To Slug Boys’

SCANDANAVIAN/UK post-punks SLUG BOYS have just released debut album ‘Listen To Slug Boys’ via Oslo Syndrome Records.

Their infamous, unpredictable, chaotic live shows transfer seamlessly to the new record, a mix of politics, heart on the sleeve emotion, and an occasional slice of absurdity. However, behind the disorder lies detailed songwriting, standout track ‘The War’ a perfect example of a band at ease delivering a personal, tender, intense message.

“’The War’ was a song that developed over a few weeks with the band,” said frontman Jake Berry. “Quite quickly in the writings process I had images of where my great grandfather used to live, a small village in Moulton, Lincolnshire. He had a perfect garden, beautiful flowers of all kinds out the front of the house. Perfectly trimmed golf-course grass and an aggressively rampant mint plant which he tempered over the years. In the modestly sized back garden were vegetables which he would eat, give away or bring to my family. 

“We would visit often, the ritual was always the same, a comprehensive garden tour with progress updates of how things were growing and then a cup of tea. Sitting in his living room – which was filled with preciously kitch porcelain tea pots – he would reminisce. Topics would jump from working the fields, family, birds, his late wife. 

“Invariably, he would talk about his time in World War II. Stories were never heavy, even the worst moments were mentioned in passing and very matter of fact. He had slept through a mortar bombing through sheer exhaustion, his transport vehicle was bombed and upturned into a ditch where he almost drowned. As children, these stories were far too abstract for us to grasp. Perhaps he told them knowing they would be remembered.

“One time in 2012, I recorded his stories and gave it to my family. My late uncle was particularly happy with this, and I still have the email from him, thanking me for preserving something that meant so much to us all. That recording would serve as the introduction to the song, we tried this out in our practice room. I cried. I also cried when we recorded it in the studio, wasting entire takes after hearing his voice and that solemn guitar. I believe we turned his recording off so I could get through it. 

“The lyrics of the song are my reflections on how someone could bring themselves to talk about their time in war. It contrasts how time distanced him enough to speak openly yet remember with clarity as the memories feel close and recent. 

“It was never a song I had considered for us to release as a single. I felt conflicted that the subject was not handled delicately enough and that the song was too slow and vulnerable for our genre. This is why it ends the album. 

“Surprisingly, people have been incredibly responsive. A friend said to me that through this song, my grandfather’s voice will live on for years to come. I like to think of the song reaching Ireland where he trained or Belgium or France where he fought. In a hundred years someone might play our record in a far corner of the world, and he will be heard, telling his stories once more.”

Joining Berry in the band are Magnus Haugo (lead guitar), Martin Pedersen (drums), Anders Dalhammar (rhythm guitar/backing vocs), and Kasper Syljusveen (bass/backing vocs). 

‘Listen To Slug Boys’ was produced and mixed by Morten Øby (Death by Unga Bunga, Aktiv Dödshjelp, Blomst) and mastered by Emily Lazar (Foo Fighters, Sleigh Bells).

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