Riff Now, For Tomorrow We May Die
It seems like ages ago (it was only 2017) that Flush
It will always be a joy to say Lower Slaughter are back, and indeed they are, with their second album ‘Some Things Take Work’ now upon us to deliver us from all sorts of evils, and if maybe not actually deliver us, it will at least distract us from the shite around us as we base jump into the riff pit with wild abandon.

Whereas the opener ‘Bone Meal’ on the debut smashed in like a drunk giddy cocky young upstart, a few years have passed, and everyone has grown/evolved somewhat, so the opening moments of ‘Gas’ on the second album are slightly deceptive (quite apt given the subject of the track) in lulling you into a misplaced perception. Rather than exploding through the speakers at a thousand miles a riff, it’s initially somewhat rolling Leviathan melancholic as Sinead’s effectively snarls ‘Trying to please you makes me hate myself’, which as an opening line to a sophomore album is a somewhat beautiful journey statement of self empowerment, truth, self awareness and Fuck You to any potential oppressors or doubters.
Of course the tectonic plates of sound quickly change and the ‘Gas’ tsunami riffs roar through with the Sinead’s battle cry of defiance, rock pimples explode across our bodies, and Sinead, nor us are EVER taking this shit again.
Whereas the debut album dealt with more mystical themes, this album is far more of this
Particularly the title track ‘Some Things Take Work’ which is a ferocious scream of brutal honesty and vulnerability that is immediately super power enhancing by
Sinead’s lyrics are definitely and defiantly clearer on this album, the power is still there (though I do slightly miss the garage roughness of the debut), but so too an
They may be working from different parts of the country, but this is absolutely an entity of pure focused power where all the members complement each other extraordinarily well in a common goal, message
The personal growth (sometimes painful as it may be) continues in the absolute joy that is ‘Hindsight’, a gorgeous ferocious ode to past times, moments, people. A rolling, swaying
I’d mentioned in the review for their debut about how it reminded me of the invigorating and bracing freshness of Austrian winter winds first thing in the morning. The first time I listened to ‘Some Things Take Work’ was a crappy Monday morning deep in the political rabies infected bowels of a London tube, and despite the insanity of the immediate world around me, this album brought focus, purpose, empowerment, unity, clarity
Yes, everything seems fucked up, which is clearly having an effect on our own headspaces. But, with a bit of
9/10
Lower Slaughter ‘Some Things Take Work’ is out now on Box records, check facebook.com/lowerslaughter for tour details.