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'Almost Famous' EP Review


Happy Tuesday!! I am waiting impatiently for Thanksgiving break to come, as I’m sure you all are as well. Today, I have prepared for you an exciting and small modern-day grungy girl band. The band Slutever publicly announced its disbandment on January 30, 2017—definitely prematurely, considering they only have 130k followers on Spotify. I think this band deserves way more recognition than it has currently, so I’m going to be talking about the four songs on the ‘Almost Famous’ EP that are most lyrically interesting to me. I scarcely discuss instrumentals on this show, but I feel that this band deserves recognition for their simple yet addictive melodies, as well as their really great guitar and drum work. I do think that their more “riot grrrl”-esque piece of work would be their 1994 single, which is, as the title would suggest, a love letter to the brash nature of mid-nineties rock culture. However, the band has stated in an interview with The Cut that they felt their work lay beyond the confines of ‘riot grrrl,’ plus, I think this EP is way more substantial.


[slutever album cover, taken from bandcamp]
[slutever album cover, taken from bandcamp]

Anywho, let’s jump right into the lyrics analysis!


—> I Miss America


Right off the bat, this title felt somewhat misleading, but I promise, this song does not have a message of underlying racism! That’s genuinely what the title reminded me of at first, but aside from silly impressions, this song is an ode to the failures of rural America. The lyrics are gross, cold, and decaying. “A quiet street that reeks of crack and poverty.” With this song being the second track, it definitely sets a precedent for the rest of the album, a precedent to expect dark and grungy topics with an air of nostalgia. A bit of a Stockholm syndrome situation: falling in love with something so dismal yet missing it so much. The lyrics “You're already drunk, it's 10 AM / I predict it's imminent,” repeated towards the end of the song, definitely evoke a sense of childhood and naivety. This track just screams to me, “Why have you failed me?” but it’s what makes it so intoxicating at the same time.


—> Teen Mom


Teen Mom is one of the most interesting songs on the EP, and it's also the most bizarre. The storyline is unclear, and the lyrical structure is even more unnerving. It could simply be that Slutever wanted to write the premise of a teen mom struggling with teen drama, but it feels more complex than that because of lyrics like, “There's more love on the TV / I wish it was with me.” The song rapidly changes from a slow verse to an intense pre-chorus, making the listening experience even more unsettling, before ending in a final lament for teen moms: “Teen moms, they have it hard / Teen moms with broken hearts / Nobody loves anybody / We are all alone.” Overall, a bizarre song, yet it somehow has an infectious air of desperation and pity.


—> Maggot


While Maggot certainly isn’t the most lyrically interesting, it’s a very easy-to-love and a grungy alternative song with the reliable lyrical grossness that Slutever is really known for. The premise is presumably about some kind of toxic relationship or friendship, comparing the person on the other end to an infectious “maggot,” seeping their way in. You get a lot of excellent imagery that evokes feelings of disgust, anguish, fear, etc: “I'll get revenge / Pour bleach on your head / And now you're dead.” It’s a bit simple, but it sounds great since they really committed to the metaphor.


—> Open Wide


My favorite track on this album is Open Wide for a reason! It’s a timeless, sheltering track that I don’t think this record would be complete without. For a band that often preaches about the dismal nature of life, they really delivered on this track, which is about struggling with motivation and depression. Where this song understands the struggle of isolation and existentialism: Now that you're older, things aren't much better / It starts to look bad when you can't pay your rent,” it immediately offers consolation and support: “Sometimes you just have to let it go / Sometimes it's not better all alone.” I think that’s a message we could all use from time to time.


[a photo of the band, taken from vice!]
[a photo of the band, taken from vice!]

There’s my review of the ‘Almost Famous’ EP by the band Slutever! I really hope you enjoyed and gave it a listen and do recommend to me (on Instagram or the comments) other modern riot grrrl bands—there are so many underground ones I’d love to give recognition to. In the meantime, have a great rest of the week.


See you next time,

Mila


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