Slaves
Are You Satisfied?
June 1 2015 (Virgin/EMI)
8/10
Words: Alison Mack
The Kent punk rock duo of stand up drummer (Isaac Holman) and multi-tatt'd guitarist (Laurie Vincent) finally arrive with their long-awaited debut album that, given the riotous fun their live show is known for, has expectations riding on it being able to fulfill the similarly raw and passionate reality on record.
There may be 13 tracks here, but don't worry that this collection could take up over an hour of your life. Never fear, you can get through the lot and still have a good 22 minutes of your hour left to play with - the title track, for instance, scrapes through on a bare 90 seconds.
Kicking off with previous single and fan favourite ‘The Hunter’, its boundless rhythm and crunchy guitar nicely partnering Holman’s yell-out vocals. Swiftly followed by current rouser ‘Cheer Up London’, where Holman entreats: "Put another nought on your pay cheque/Are you done digging your grave yet?" A statement some may find wryly amusing given Slaves are signed to a major label.
‘Feed The Mantaray' will also bring a smile to the lips for fans versed in Slaves live style. Elsewhere tracks like ‘Sugar Coated Bitter Truth’ lays the sentiment out flat with the lyrics,‘don’t trust the flies, they are government spies, whilst the Lydon-esque ‘Sockets’ and ‘Despair And Traffic’ highlight the sharp rhythms they can toss out, and the wit is seen on 'Ninety Nine': "Talking to a mannequin the other day/She had fuck all to say to me."
Are we satisfied? On this occasion, pretty much. However, the endless '76 Sex Pistols cocking a snook asides may start to lose its appeal when it comes to the more difficult second album unless they can draw in inspiration from a wider spectrum.
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