NC’s Totally Slow offers up razor sharp, no-frills punk music, with angry lyrics that show how the personal is inseparable from the political when the country is on the brink of chaos. The band has combined the melodic anthems of 1980s SoCal bands like The Adolescents, Agent Orange and The Faction, with the skewed rawk of ‘90s San Diego bands Drive Like Jehu and Truman’s Water, and the righteous conviction of classic DC hardcore like Dag Nasty, Gray Matter and Fugazi.
After a series of livewire basement shows and sweaty van tours in several bands over the years, Scott Hicks and Andy Foster formed Totally Slow in 2013, releasing a self-titled LP of driving, catchy punk shortly after. Razorcake Magazine called the ten-song debut “well planned and masterful,” saying that the debut “…goes off without a hitch. It’s perfect.”
After 2016 LP Bleed Out’s “powerful, pedal-to-the-metal pop” (the kind folks at Razorcake again), Totally Slow went into flux, speeding up their songs for the Imperium EP and introducing guitarist Chuck Johnson (Torchrunner, Gut Feeling), then recalibrating their lineup. Now on Refresh Records, their third LP ‘Casual Drag’ featured a more collaborative approach to songwriting.
Guitarist and vocalist Scott Hicks says “We wanted to find a more dynamic balance for this record. The track order wasn’t taken lightly and there are lot of interesting samples and between-song transitions that I hope folks can find the time to receive fully as a whole piece. “Pistol Whip” is a tone-switch, and brings the BPM down a bit. The intensity level is still peaking but it still feels like breathing space – with lyrics conveying that we live inside of chaos and trying to find some peace in accepting the intractable nature of “being”. So it’s a sonic break and really an emotional break as well.
Sam Paulsen is one of my favorite people and musicians, so it was rad that she happened to visit when we were deep in the recording process. She sings backup on several songs and threw down some completely bonkers guitars on “Motorshed”. We’re always excited to collaborate and have our records include important people from our little community of like-minded artists and I love Sam so as far as I’m concerned she can be on any record I make in perpetuity”.
SOURCE: Official Bio
LINK:
https://linktr.ee/totallyslow