Slow Pulp live in Manchester: A summer hit in December

With clocks set to daylight saving, and the sheen of the new term gradually fading for many Mancunian students, listening to Chicago-based quartet Slow Pulp’s sun-soaked strumming can feel like a breath of fresh air.

While some may find themselves in the awkward middle ground between new and old relationships, self-imposed expectations and reality, or simply between summer and winter, they need look no further than Slow Pulp’s sophomore album Yard (released September 29th) to see these feelings reflected at them.

Happily, the Madison-made band were able to brighten the late-autumn bleakness with the 5th stop of their European tour at YES Basement on December 4th. A fittingly intimate venue for Slow Pulp’s introspective indie rock sound, the basement was already seemingly at full capacity by 8pm, when opener PACKS began their set. Though three members out of the usual five-piece were absent, the sweetness of their new singles (‘HFCS’, ‘Honey’) and vocalist Madeleine Link’s easy engagement with the audience was enough to counteract any lack of flavour.

After a brief interlude of comfortable chatter among the audience, Slow Pulp appeared onstage. The ease with which its members moved around each other reflected the tight-knit nature of the group. They are made up of lead guitarist Henry Stoehr, bassist Alex Leeds, drummer Teddy Matthews, and Post Animal guitarist Javi Reyes, who is accompanying Slow Pulp on this tour.

Flanked by Stoehr and Leeds (sporting matching hairstyles, beards, and dark shirts) and with Matthews and Reyes closing the circle behind her, vocalist Emily Massey stood out like a beam of sunlight with her strawberry blond hair and bright red jacket.

Kicking their set off with the iconic bassline from fan-favourite ‘Slugs’, whoops of appreciation from the audience set the tone for the night to come. Previously described by Massey (the habitual lyricist of the group) as a song which “put simply, is about falling in love in the summertime,” it acted as a gentle prelude to Slow Pulp’s generally more contemplative lyrics in its childlike simplicity. Its chords are based on a song Stoehr wrote for a crush in sixth grade, and the lyrics were written by Massey to match: “You’re a summer hit / I’m singing it.”

On the heels of this success from Yard, the band took a step back with some older songs from their 2020 album Moveys They seemingly warmed up with the more laid-back, understated guitars of ‘Idaho’ and ‘At It Again’. Remaining true to Slow Pulp’s shoe gaze character, Massey seemed to be sizing up the venue, standing mostly motionless with downcast eyes onstage.

As with any band on tour, the group is used to dealing with distance, but Slow Pulp know more about it than most, having lived apart from each other for a while before coalescing as a band in Chicago and working remotely during the pandemic. Though they have since embraced isolation as part of their creative process, the fact much of Yard was recorded in Massey’s father’s home studio means that some songs had to be rearranged for live performance, with ‘Doubt’ being the first one that was noticeably changed.

Pitched up by a tone or two and sporting a slightly altered chord progression, the deceptively poppy track about struggling to achieve self-acceptance seemed to take on a more genuinely optimistic character.

Isolation also had implications for the band as performers. Despite childhood experience with performing, Massey has expressed some hesitation when it comes to being emotionally vulnerable in front of an audience. While this may have accounted for a more restrained performance at the beginning of the gig, though, by the time the spacey, reverb-soaked guitars of ‘Track’ began rolling over steady drums, she seemed to have let go of any inhibitions completely.

Maybe it was due to the intimate atmosphere at YES, or the receptive sea of beanies and caps nodding along even to lesser-known tracks, or perhaps it simply came down to Massey’s mood that day. Compared with her more restrained performance at District in Liverpool on November 30th, in any case, there was no doubting the rawness of Massey’s emotion as she crooned into the mic about her relationship with her mother: “I will recall your name / I see you in my face / Love you always.”

The second half of the performance was dedicated to the main body of Yard following the mournful crowd-pleaser ‘Falling Apart’. In comparison with previous albums, Yard has more assertive, distorted guitars, which provide an energy boost to the performance. It also incorporates more folk and pop elements, as evidenced by Massey’s soulful harmonica solo in ‘Broadview’, which has consistently elicited delight from audiences.

However, it shares the introspective lyrics of previous albums, with single ‘Cramps’ showcasing the struggle of not living up to one’s expectations, and ‘MUD’ (“Miss U Dear”) acquiescing to the inevitable end of a relationship. Closing the set with another fan favourite, ‘At Home’, Slow Pulp’s recurrent themes of the beginnings and endings came full circle, with the audience eagerly singing along to the sticky one-liner chorus: “Should I try all over again?”

It was not until the eagerly demanded encore that the titular ‘Yard’ was performed, serving for an emotional finale, especially when contrasted with the dirty, cathartic guitar solo in Bid Day EP hit ‘High’. While it may seem an odd choice at first glance to have ended the night with ‘Montana’—the ninth track on Moveys and a heart-wrenching exercise in self-deprecation—it could equally be interpreted as a final show of faith towards the audience: a final moment of vulnerability showing that it is alright to be struggling in the middle ground of change.

Slow Pulp will be returning to Manchester next summer when they will be playing at Band on the Wall. Until then, fans will surely be singing their summer hits to help them focus on that sunny prospect.

Words by Mina Wang