As most music aficionados, I tend to keep an eye on upcoming releases from my favorite artists during the year. However, even when you’re talking about very experimental or eclectic artists, you kind of know what to expect from that new music most of the time.
That’s why I love that feeling of listening to a brand new release from a band you didn’t know that ends up being incredibly compelling to you. It came out of nowhere, you had literally zero expectations, and it rocks your world and manages to outshine even some of your most expected releases. Last year, Lowen‘s Do Not Go To War With The Demons Of Mazandaran was that pleasant surprise for me. This year, I’m already calling Slung to take that spot, because their debut In Ways is already finding its, ahem, ways into my heart.
I’ve never heard of the band before, and Jake, one of my Everything Is Noise brethren, recommended it in our chat saying that it was something like Mastodon meets Brutus. Naturally, as both bands are right up my alley, I had to check that out. And honestly, if Slung was just that and nothing else, I’d already be satisfied. Thankfully, it’s so much more.
I totally got where he was coming from in the very first minutes of the opening track, “Laughter”: that soft-stoner riffage exalted by a very engaging punk energy and excellent vocals. While there’s more than a few modern-sounding elements throughout the album, Slung brings some real old-school classic rock and hard rock vibes to the table, managing to sound pretty nostalgic, too. They’re a very approachable band, and I figure their music could appeal to pretty much anyone, from post rock and doom fans to your Led Zeppelin-loving dad.
Having listened to the album quite a lot throughout the month, one of the things that made In Ways stand out to me a lot is that every song is very strong on its own. I’m usually an ‘full album guy’ and prefer the back to back experience, but you could listen to these songs in any order and they’d still hit just as hard on their own. They each got their own feel, their own punch, their own hook. That’s when you know you got some stellar songwriting going on.
Perhaps one of the things that evokes that school classic rock and even slightly bluesy vibe is the fact that Slung are not scared to sound sexy. Songs like “Thinking About It” and “Class A Cherry” carry this devilish naughty aura, notably due to frontwoman’s Katie Oldham compelling vocal delivery and the playful innuendo lyrics. They feel like modern hard rock club bangers, and I can’t stop going back to those two.
It’s with their mellower, slightly delicate songs that Slung truly won me over though. The smooth riffage in tracks like “Come Apart” and “Limassol” just bleed early Devin Townsend through and through, and the songs build up and deliver some remarkably satisfying catharses. The latter specially could fit straight into Terria. From a massive Dev fan like myself, it’s some of the highest praise I can give anyone. And the vocal climax on “Heavy Duty”? Honestly my favorite musical moment from 2025 so far.
In Ways is honestly what I would consider a perfect album. It’s diverse, it’s creative, it presents a very solid identity within itself, every song stands out on its own, and most importantly, it fucking rocks. Slung has everything to become a household name, so I urge you to listen to them immediately. Not only you’ll be listening to awesome music, but you’ll gain bragging rights to say ‘I know them since before they were big, you know’.
