The Slew
» Grouplove - January 4, 2012
» The Dum Dum Girls - January 3, 2012
'100%' was the song that started the gig and 100% was exactly what we got from The Slew tonight.
For those who haven’t heard, The Slew is an international crossover genre band formed by four people you may have already heard of - with members including DJ Kid Koala and Dynomite D as well as two former members of Australian rock band Wolfmother, Chris Ross and Miles Heskett.
It only takes one minute to make up your mind about The Slew, you’re either in or out, it’s a love it or leave it affair. First of all, the music is loud... very loud. On stage, bass player Ross finds himself surrounded by two DJs while Miles and his solid drumming stay in the background.
Ross releases explosive riffs using his bass guitar as he wishes, while the two DJs cut and scratch away like there’s no tomorrow. Ross successfully alternates bass and keyboard and even a tambourine that is then passed along to the focused Dynomite D.
The combination works... and you find yourself wondering (between the bounces of your head), how can this work so well? The Slew is the kind of band that can reconcile people that have a problem with DJs and the often too abstract sound of turntablism.
By coupling ferocious samples with over-excited rock music in such an interesting way The Slew makes two (maybe obvious) statements: rock and roll will never die, and turntables are not just a 80s toy. As a hybrid band, The Slew is hard to compare to other bands. Think about Justice with a post-industrial heavy vibe, while the sound of it made me think about Fingathing, a brillant electronic US duo with a DJ and an electric counter bass player.
My only criticism of this set is that the band could not maintain the excitement of their first songs and the show dragged on a bit towards the end.
Nevertheless when The Slew came back for an encore with their track 'The Battle of Heaven and Hell' the ecstatic feeling reappeared instantly when faced by this apocalyptical end of the world rock song... and our heads started bouncing again.
