{"id":610091,"date":"2026-09-24T08:28:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T08:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/610091\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T08:28:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T08:28:15","slug":"slow-pulp-melodie-album-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/610091\/","title":{"rendered":"Slow Pulp: Melodie Album Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

A whole relationship arc is waiting to unfurl in the first lines of Slow Pulp<\/a>\u2019s third album, Melodie: \u201cDo you know when you saw me\/In a crowd, dancing?\u201d vocalist Emily Massey asks. Over the breezy acoustic strums of \u201cYellow and Green,\u201d she offers small details into that fateful encounter, one that even her teenaged self intuited would change the course of her life for the best. It\u2019s expected that friendships evolve as life does, but it would take a lot more than passing time to erode a bond so mutually attuned: \u201cI know you\u2019re scared of changing\/I hope that you feel seen.\u201d It sets the tone for an album that exudes an innate desire to understand and be understood in return.<\/p>\n

Slow Pulp\u2019s previous record, 2023\u2019s Yard<\/a>, let casual, retro indie rock backdrop their singer-songwriter introspection. On the new-wave leanings of Melodie, the Madison-bred, Chicago-based quartet puts up a magnifying glass to those acute emotions, prodding at the way interactions with other people shape our perceptions of ourselves. And though Massey still provides lead vocals for every song, it\u2019s also the first Slow Pulp album where guitarist Henry Stoehr takes on a good portion of songwriting duties. He\u2019s the pen behind lead single \u201cBetter Man,\u201d where the burdens of avoidant tendencies start to crack: \u201cI can hurt myself again\/As I fade away from everything\/And I hear a voice that\u2019s telling me to leave,\u201d Massey sings over a wash of shimmery guitar pop. Stoehr starts to peel those layers back on the sparse closer \u201cSlip Away,\u201d a song he wrote about crossing paths with old hometown acquaintances who chose to ignore him instead of bothering to brush off the cobwebs. Had the roles reversed, Stoehr would go the friendlier route\u2014\u201cI don\u2019t think I\u2019d let myself do that,\u201d Massey sings\u2014but there\u2019s a self-aware ambivalence to it, an acknowledgement that it\u2019s sometimes easiest to let certain connections turn to dust.<\/p>\n

No score yet, be the first to add.<\/p>\n

The narrators Massey writes, meanwhile, crave clarity in periods of ambiguity. The folk-pop jam \u201cThese Days\u201d recounts how the multifariousness of big-city living can blur the plans we laid for ourselves, and she yearns for a sharper sense of identity on the spunky \u201cRed Car\u201d: \u201cWhat did you get from that little red car?\/Did it go quick to get to who you are?\u201d she sings, painting the process of self-actualization as one rewarded with a grand, conspicuous arrival. But elsewhere, Massey draws allusions to her own blossoming assuredness, which can put her at odds in imbalanced relationships. A withdrawn partner\u2019s silence has her vexed on the wistful, hypnotic \u201cSpill,\u201d and over the dreamy synths of \u201cUp to You,\u201d she\u2019s coming to terms with a fatal dissonance between herself and the person she wants: \u201c\u2019Cause I know who I am\/Can you love me like that?\u201d she sings, as if begging, \u201cIs it really so difficult?\u201d<\/p>\n

In the most rewarding moments of Melodie, Massey wields her emotional resilience. The plodding bassline of \u201cEntertainer\u201d grounds her when a ghost of her past threatens to re-emerge: \u201cI can\u2019t let you go back to me,\u201d she asserts, subtly delegating herself total control. On the glitzy piano ballad \u201cNot for Nothing,\u201d she\u2019s reluctantly grieving a waning relationship, but there\u2019s an air of gratitude in her recognizing its overall positive impact. It\u2019s probably true that the only person we can ever completely understand is ourselves, but Slow Pulp realize that the people we spend our time with\u2014whether we\u2019re dancing in crowds or saying final goodbyes\u2014help make that understanding possible.<\/p>\n

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