"your eyes burned lucid"
When Katie Soloman from Slow Dress veers off into the chorus of Stew it is like the car has smashed a guard rail into a million splinters and is free falling off a cliff. Her emotional, quivering wail combined with the lovely and moving melody feels all guts and tears. The abandoned beauty might send a shiver skate across your skin, it did mine. Slow Dress is the admitted "folk" outfit of Soloman (as principal singer songwriter) and guitarist Bredon Jones but that genre designation seems too small here.
"The song title refers to an amalgamation of all the experiences of one’s life," says singer Katie Solomon. "I had this idea that what if when you die, you just relive all of the experiences you’ve had over and over and that’s what death is. I was thinking about all the ways people numb themselves by shopping, taking drugs, and just doing the same repetitive things... I don’t want to be a zombie plodding through life like that. I don’t want to die wishing I had lived more fully." (-Press notes)
The sort of "apocalyptic dread" is easy to relate to but the absolute earnest tones of Stew with the exquisite guitar lines, deep piano and folk meets blues meets a sort of chamber art pop motif meets garden rock sets the beautiful poetry and evocative melodies in serious cement. Love this.
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
Slow Dress’ sound is as accessible as it is unnerving — an honest reflection of vocalist Katie Solomon’s thoughts on the uncertainty of life, love, and her emotions. Writing for Slow Dress, Solomon reaches to express the complexity of her often conflicting feelings.
Over Bredon Jones’ intricate guitar lines, Solomon explores her fears with wrenching vocals and an evolving self-understanding – evoking the sauntering, emphatic sound and confessional lyrics of artists like Julia Jacklin and Lucy Dacus. Tackling personal and existential questions with a sprinkle of apocalyptic dread, Slow Dress navigates the contradictory nature of being human.
Solomon and Jones met at an open mic night at the Lizard Lounge in Boston. Immediately drawn to Solomon’s voice – described by Allston Pudding as being “rightfully compared to the likes of Kate Bush and Florence Welch” – Jones asked if he could sing harmonies. From 2016-2019, the two played together in Boston band Jakals, gaining a reputation as a band that “covers tough stuff,” as Allston Pudding puts it. After deciding to break off and form Slow Dress, the two honed their uninhibited storytelling, trading in sonic heaviness for lyrical and musical intimacy.
While the band hasn’t had an official release yet, they have big plans for the coming months. Solomon is relocating to St. Louis to be closer to Jones, where they’ll be working on putting out their first single in early 2020, and a larger project later that year.
Solomon doesn’t always see her experiences reflected in the sarcasm that can be found in indie music, a disillusionment that influences her writing style. Her lyrics effortlessly connect personal fears to larger societal ills with a sharp but empathetic eye and always aim to capture the nuance of emotion. Slow Dress’ music is earnest and honest in its critique of the way we all live.
Over Bredon Jones’ intricate guitar lines, Solomon explores her fears with wrenching vocals and an evolving self-understanding – evoking the sauntering, emphatic sound and confessional lyrics of artists like Julia Jacklin and Lucy Dacus. Tackling personal and existential questions with a sprinkle of apocalyptic dread, Slow Dress navigates the contradictory nature of being human.
Solomon and Jones met at an open mic night at the Lizard Lounge in Boston. Immediately drawn to Solomon’s voice – described by Allston Pudding as being “rightfully compared to the likes of Kate Bush and Florence Welch” – Jones asked if he could sing harmonies. From 2016-2019, the two played together in Boston band Jakals, gaining a reputation as a band that “covers tough stuff,” as Allston Pudding puts it. After deciding to break off and form Slow Dress, the two honed their uninhibited storytelling, trading in sonic heaviness for lyrical and musical intimacy.
While the band hasn’t had an official release yet, they have big plans for the coming months. Solomon is relocating to St. Louis to be closer to Jones, where they’ll be working on putting out their first single in early 2020, and a larger project later that year.
Solomon doesn’t always see her experiences reflected in the sarcasm that can be found in indie music, a disillusionment that influences her writing style. Her lyrics effortlessly connect personal fears to larger societal ills with a sharp but empathetic eye and always aim to capture the nuance of emotion. Slow Dress’ music is earnest and honest in its critique of the way we all live.
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