Album Review: Slush – Lizard Skin (Self Released)

Like Hank Williams Sr., Slush was never born, only hatched. Rising from the ocean floor, the Brooklyn-based, ontological collective returns with a strange and twisted full-length follow up to the protopunk, doom-blues swagger of their first LP, American Demons (2016). True to the band’s steadfast motto of “garbage music for garbage people,” Lizard Skin is an epic, seven-song struggle with the reptile within, blending elements of Howlin’ Wolf, Spacemen 3, Leonard Cohen, and avant-garde behemoths Swans.

Slush is comprised of Joe Dahlstrom (bass), Tom Barnes (drums), and Alex Boehm (guitar and vocals). The three have played together since 2012, gigging extensively in and around New York City. The band has played together in several iterations, and also make up the powerhouse that is Hot Knives. SLUSH has allowed them to explore different musical outlets that are dark, weird, and unapologetic.

“These songs are an exploration into the darker/more avant-garde stuff, getting into weird rhythms, some riff worship, quiet spooky blues, things like that. We recorded these songs in late 2016, kind of with the expectation that we had taken Slush as far as we cared to take it.”

A little bit doomy, a little bit bluesy, a little bit punk…Slush’s last ride is seven tracks of musical oddities that shouldn’t gel together but do. Mainly because no-one told Slush that they couldn’t do it.

Graveyard begins with punky metal pace before transforming into a slower, trippy doom effort. Built on huge sounding riffs and bluesy vocals. It’s followed by the even heavier sounding doom in the form of Golden Seam. The fuzziness of the riffs taking hold and refusing to let go.

After two hefty tracks, it’s time for a little chill with the melody driven and blues-heavy title track. Something that certainly stands out as it’s so very different to what we’ve heard so far. That variation continues into Skeleton Queen as the guitars moan throughout before having enough of the slower pace to deliver a more frantic finale.

It really doesn’t matter what Slush choose to focus on, be it the faster, heavier doominess of Megalodon or the slower, softer acoustic melody of Cortex the Killer, Slush makes it work. Some might find the switches a little jarring though.

Lizard Skin and Slush wrap up with a bit of an epic that sees the band throw their absolute all into delivering a wild finale. On the Silver Globe combines all the fuzzy riffs, bluesy vocals and frantic guitar leads we’ve heard so far for one final bow.

Slush – Lizard Skin Full Track Listing:

1. Graveyard
2. Golden Seam
3. Lizard Skin
4. Skeleton Queen
5. Megalodon
6. Cortex the Killer
7. On the Silver Globe

Slush’s music can be found over on Bandcamp and find out more via their Instagram.