Two-piece bands are popping up everywhere at the moment, the likes of The Black Keys and Royal Blood seemingly making the format in to a genre in its own right. Fortunately for the Kent-formed, London-based Slaves they’re shattering any preconceptions of how a duo should sound, sharing more in common with Manchester’s Brown Brogues than either of the aforementioned.*
With a blistering repertoire of tracks behind them, Isaac Holman and Laurie Vincent are managing to make a noise that would be impressive for even a full band. An acerbic vocal and blistering punk energy making for some of the snottiest garage rock around; the anarchic evisceration making it difficult to look away from.
New single ‘Hey‘ is no exception. Going straight for the juglar, the track is two-headed assault on the senses. Cataclysmic guitars wail along with the feedback they’re producing, encorporating it as if it were another instrument. Lyrically the track is a no holds barred stream of conciousness, “lacking in any direct message” but ultimately harbouring a violent psychosis that matches the danger of the music perfectly.
We caught up with the band just after the single’s release and asked them to tell us a bit about themselves.
*Interestingly enough, Brown Brogues have since added a bassist after hearing about two-piece being coined as a genre.
Hi guys, thanks for having a chat with us. First of all, who are you and how did you get together?
I’m Laurie. I am 21 a Capricorn and I play guitar in a rock boy group called slaves. The stars aligned and fate brought Isaac and I together very fortunately for us.
You’ve been described as a lot of things, noisy bastards being the most frequent. How would you describe Slaves’ sound?
Noisy gentlemen.
You’re new single ‘Hey’ is an anarchic, visceral affair. What’s it about, where did it come from?
It came from the sweatiest practice studio we have ever been in, a box about 10ft by 10ft wide and completely soundproofed with no ventilation. It could of come from our position trapped in there maybe.
Falling somewhere in between garage rock and hardcore, you’ve developed quite a punishing aesthetic. Who are some of your biggest influences? Do you associate more with garage rock or punk?
Baxter Dury, Mike Skinner, Damon Albarn and Eminem are all huge influences on both of us. We probably associate with neither genre that strongly but love bands and ideas from both. I feel defining your band by a genre instantly diminishes your potential audience. Why make it harder for your music to reach more people by calling yourself punk? That is also not very punk at all to call yourself punk. We don’t care for labels essentially, who needs them?
You’re supporting Jamie T. on his upcoming tour, what can we expect from your live shows and why should people make sure they get there early enough to see you?
We will probably ask you about your favourite biscuit or similar food types. It will be fun, we will have a right laugh basically. Who doesn’t want to enjoy themselves? That’s why they should come early enough.
Finally, any news or exclusives you’d like to give our audience?
I burst the blood vessels around my eyes for the second time in my life this morning. It was horrible. I’m not very good at being ill….I also got a really great kinder egg toy the other day and have attached a picture of it for the viewers. My girlfriend was a bit jealous I got a better toy than her. Leading all you readers to ponder on how shit kinder egg toys have got since we were kids….
Thank you for your time, my favourite biscuit at the moment is a foxes golden crunch cream.
Cheers guys.
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