British-born SLANG [@SLANGSLANGING] Releases Highly-Anticipated 4-tracked EP This Week
British born SLANG (‘neé’ songwriter/producer ‘Dan Dare’) released his highly-anticipated 4-tracked EP this week.
Having worked with the likes of Wiley, Charli XCX and WSTRN, Slang’s EP firmly introduces himself to the much-warranted foreground of his music.
Slang’s EP is distinctively his own, acutely shaped by his childhood and adversity; his narrative is confessional without being pitiful or hyperbolic. His matter-of-fact lyrics are layered amongst the melodic and sonically-soothing guitar sound. Enjoyment straddles disturbance, the rug’s pulled under us with lyrics like: ‘spiking my own drink / puffing on some pollen’ (Sweet Lies) and ‘kids going to prison younger, the return of the foot soldier’ (Allegations). Written and recorded during a particularly challenging time in SLANG’s life he explains:
“I was homeless and one of my dodgy friends gave me an opportunity to live in a house where he used to do his dodgy dealings. Recording verses and writing guitars parts were often interrupted by the police raiding the house or a bailiff trying to break in.”
Over just four tracks SLANG manages to emotionally manoeuvre through comedy, repentence and self-discovery. His opening track ‘What Happened to you’ is a summery and lighthearted introduction, documenting a comic supermarket run-in with an ex. However, the mood quickly changes with both ‘Allegations’ and ‘Sweet Lies’ which explore of violence: “We had the same problems when I was a kid, but the age of the killers and victims keep getting younger” (Allegations) and ‘If they’re lippy, it’s tricky pretty ricky can turn pretty ugly real quickly and quickly turn men into mice’. (Sweet Lies – Listen Back to this – 1:51).
Finally with ‘Grown’ there’s a final-track catharsis as we seem to come full-circle with the understanding that adversity and self-discovery come hand-in-hand.
The opening, with the bitter-sweet melody contrasts to the previous track, almost acting as a new day on the EP. There’s now hope and almost an inverse ‘happily ever after’ and solace in the fact that it’s through all the aforementioned hardship we do in fact ‘Grow’.
‘You don’t know just who you are till you’re grown – don’t ever let go of who you are when you’re grown’.
We love Slang’s EP and his compelling story-telling. You can catch him live at the following shows:
April 29th – Live At Leeds
May 4th – London, The Sebright Arms (Free tickets available on DICE).
May 20th – Brighton, The Great Escape
May 28th – Liverpool, Sound City
September 9th – Portmeirion, Festival Number 6
You can also stay updated by following him on all of the below:
