Review Summary: just here for a good time not a long time you know i
Peer pressure is a hell of a drug, and I still remember the shift to kvltism as if it were yesterday. I was an amiable prog fan (au contraire; they exist) who could be roped into anything that followed easy melodic progressions and adopted production clean enough to shine. While my closet is almost entirely black these days and I'm all too eager to verbally abuse people who disregard that one frost-tinged blast-fest as nothing more than "noise", or "elitist swill", I still reserve a soft spot for bands who just like making stuff that sounds nice from the get go. It's okay to like McDonald's. I've had it three times this week. Or four. I'm not too sure how many times I've had it this week but that is besides the point; Sloth & Turtle make glitzy math rock. Post and electronic flourishes are hidden throughout like BBQ and sweet chili packets that you didn't ask for but got anyway. The overall experience feels absolutely catered to the lowest common denominator. And it kicks ass.
There is no denying the instrumental prowess the band does possess, even if originality is far from central to their sound. The opening tappity tap tap doodad to "Toys" sounds a lot like that other tappity tap tap doodad. It is fairly straightforward, and the song continues with the tapping and doodadding and the drummer does some cute start-stop fills to keep you guessing and the bassist slides up and down the fret board tactfully enough to hold down the fort but throws in a little RNG to keep things mathematically ubiquitous and it all sounds so damn clean.
Completely unrelated addendum,
Sloth & Turtle is a sick band name.
Around 2 minutes and 40 seconds into "The Toys are Back in Town", there's this sick little syncopated groove that just repeats relentlessly under something akin to a walkie-talkie filter before exploding into a banging bridge of sorts where the band kinda grooves out at maximum volume for a minute or so. It is a really cool, somewhat scatterbrained moment and you can just tell someone in the studio let out a massive "yeaaaaahhhhhh man" upon hearing it come together for the first time. That is sorta the gist of this EP. It is as if you are wading through a forest of infinite beauty and through the foliage, you spot a burger on an altar, dripping in sunlight and extra cheddar. Some would most certainly scrutinize capitalist product placement and the destruction of nature but be honest with yourself; you want that burger and so do I. It isn't very nuanced. At most, it comes with a couple of unexpected but welcome condiments. You'd probably become a more learned individual if your escapades led you elsewhere but I, for one, am pretty stoked to be chomping down on this lovely little explosion of conveyor-belt math jams.
