Up Wake! The Slacksons


The Slacksons are from Bristol and they look like they come from Manchester. But they sound like they come from Bristol via the whole world. Partly via a Reverend and the Makers fan club meeting in Rotherham. Or wherever they come from.  Frankly after I heard this I stopped caring.

The swagger, the look, the vibe is all the best of Manchester. Effortlessly cool. This is someone (I assume Slackson is a multi-instrumentalist cool person) who I would feel envy for if I ever could compete in the cool stakes. It's hard to be cool with a plastic tube up your nose.

The music evokes a lot of the best of Bristol without being derivative or a retread. There are nods to Massive Attack. It is a groove. A powerful, languid groove.

The vocals from Carol Kenyon are on point. Exactly the correct amount of style and substance to lift the song without overwhelming it.

The part I most like about this song is the lovely interwoven guitar motif. Sublime.

If I could dance I would dance to this. Even when I am well, my ability to dance is suspect. But I want to dance to this with a bottle of Grolsch in one hand and a cigarette in another at the Fan Club surrounded but people pretending to be my friend and I want it to be 1995. I want to be relevant and I don't want to be in pain and when I listen to this song and I close my eyes I am cool again.



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