Thy Slaughter - Soft Rock ALBUM REVIEW
Will this duo reign immortal? Or have they lost everything...
Are you fucking kidding me? Another band with the initials “T.S.”? Now I gotta deal with this and that other bitch!1 Oh well. At least Thy Slaughter actually makes interesting music. If anyone should steal my initials (cuz you know, that's definitely what happened) I am honored to have it be two musicians I unironically stan almost as much as my favorite strimmer.
I'm kidding about the name thing, of course. “Thy Slaughter” was one of the earlier artists on the PC Music label. I didn’t think much of it cuz they only released a single track called Bronze, and I thought it was just another alias for A.G. Cook. Now I know it involves the other absolute goat from the label: EASYFUNNN. Bronze was a fucking banger, and this new incarnation of the group sounds nothing like it. Instead of fizzy and girly electro-pop we now have angsty and medieval electro-rock.2 Normally that would lead me to think that it was bad, but I don't. At the very least, “Soft Rock” isn't bad because it doesn't sound like Bronze. It's bad for other reasons!
But it's not even really bad, just kind of uninteresting. But not even, tho! It is really interesting from a production standpoint. It somehow sounds lo-fi while also sounding futuristic. There is a really nice mix of sounds both pleasant and unpleasant - a real buffet of texture. It covers sounds previously left untouched by PC Music. Lots of crunchy distortion and also wailing pitch bends. It's hard to tell which parts were synthesized and which parts were “real instruments.” My guess is there is a fair bit of overlap. I definitely think there is alot of post-production pitch manipulation. Maybe some sample stuff, too.
There are 5 voices on the album.3 Caroline Polachek and Alaska Reid are recurring features.4 Charlie XCX has one, and its the weakest of them all (Heavy). A.G. has a couple tracks on the back half, and EASYFUNNN takes rest. His vocals are “the anguish” - typically layered in this autotune distortion which renders them unintelligible, but it does sound very cool. Caroline and Alaska have beautiful voices and are usually dry (or at least not totally drowned in fx). Charli is given the typical pop star treatment, and Cook’s vocals are soft, nervous, and shy.
No matter who is singing, the lyrics are corny and dramatic. Not necessarily in a bad way, but there are several moments where I can't help but chuckle because of how “emotional” they sound (“I'm sick of hate/I'm sick of love.”) The whole album is very brooding and moody, which feels like new territory for everyone involved. It fits well with the vague medieval theme of the track titles - “Immortal”, “Flail”, “Reign”, etc. I am unsure how exactly the vague medieval imagery ties into the rest of the album, especially since it really is quite a loose theme. It seems purely like an aesthetic rather than an attempt at communicating something.
That's really where the record leaves me. I'm unsure what the album is supposed to mean. How deep and “mystical” the music is supposed to be.5 There is only one song that feels particularly meaningful, and that is “O Fortuna.” It feels meaningful because it is obviously a heart-to-heart transmission directly from A.G. Cook to me.6 On first listen, the lyric “Royalty always pays” stood out to me, because I thought it was him referencing his Knight Dad. But then I considered the entire chorus:
“Death by a million cuts”
“Barely could score a hit”
“I'll never have enough”
“I'm such a hypocrite”
“Death for a million plays”
“Royalty always pays”
“Spin the wheel I can't deal”
“Now I kneel and pray”
A.G. Cook has made alot of music, and worked very hard on it (the “million cuts”). Despite this, he hasn't exactly made a chart topping single (“score a hit”) despite being involved with some high rollers. He's a hypocrite for being an annoying rich white person on a song about it, and even tho he has collectively gotten a million plays on all his work combined, he still wants more. The royalties from all those songwriting credits will always pay him. Putting a song out is a bit of a shot in the dark (“spin the wheel”) and hence, waiting to see how a song does is an anxiety inducing experience (“I can't deal.”) You just have to put the music out there and hope (an act of faith) that somebody likes it (“now I kneel and pray”).
Well, rest assured, Alex. Somebody does like your music! Someone likes your music so much that they have been manifesting all of their energy to signal you. I have never felt a deeper spiritual connection with a musician I haven't met yet. I know we are from different worlds, but you have to trust me. I think we could change the world together. Milord, I know I am just a measly farmgirl,7 but if you write me a letter, I can show you a whole new world. Mr. Cook: should you need to shine a light, I know exactly where to look.
Anyway, long story short the record is good. I like it!!!!
Pros: Immortal, If I Knew, Lost Everything, O Fortuna, Don’t Know What You Want, Fountain
Cons: sometimes the album feels way too basic and corny and the songs feel like they end too abruptly.
In the sex Playlist: only if I was with someone I loved.
This is a pro-castle album, for sure.
Apparently there are 6? Lmao. I couldn’t tell the difference between ANY of the ones that weren’t Charli (I just had a vague feeling track 2 was Caroline.)
Okay actually both of them only have 1 track each. I couldn’t really tell which one was which until I looked at the album credits on RYM.
“Lost Everything” is the track where SOPHIE has a writing credit, but honestly, this went completely over my head when I first listened to it. There is definitely something to be said about putting it right before “O Fortuna,” tho.
The first time this happened was “Superstar.”
Read “parasocial loser.” Also I’m actually very poor.