The Manchester four-piece has built a reputation for soaring crescendos and deep emotional canyons, making music for romantic souls and wounded hearts.
As they return with their fifth album, Subtle Love – set for release on September 22nd, 2023 via [PIAS] they do so with their strongest and most expansive collection of songs to date.
“The record is an ode to love in all its guises,” reveals singer Rob Goodwin.
Subtle Love not only distils The Slow Show’s sumptuous indie pop formula, but it casts the group’s net into exciting fresh waters, incorporating winsome folk (Royal Blue) and anthemic, widescreen rock (One Shot) too. Across ten songs, the listener is taken on an amble through the band’s past and into a tantalising future. It is a highly melodic and moving affair made by kindred spirits and lifelong friends.
The band decamped to Cave Hill in Belfast, where Joel Byrne-McCullough grew up. “I hadn’t been there for 15 years,” marvels the guitarist. While there, the band stuck side by side and bonded afresh. “It was a great time of togetherness,” reveals Rob. “We lived in the same house, we ate together, we went to the local pub, we talked about life.”
Across a five-day period, all ten songs that make up the album had taken shape and been committed to tape by their producer, Joel’s brother, Dan Byrne-McCullough. Dan’s presence enabled an intimacy and familiarity that made everyone feel comfortable, and this brought out the best in the band.
“One Shot” is the first taster from the album and is arguably the band’s most anthemic and sing-a-long song of their career to date.
Joel reminisces, “I remember when we had the music of One Shot. It was the evening, and we were sat in the sitting room [in Belfast’, the fire was on, and we were having our dinner watching the news: me, Rob, and Fred [Kindt – band keyboardist]. After dinner, Rob was singing a few things over those chords.
As soon as he sung, ‘We’ve got one shot’, I said, ‘That’s it’.”
Listen to ‘One Shot’ BELOW:
The Slow Show – Subtle Love Tour Dates
July 7th – Ridolstadt Festival, Rudolstadt
July 14th – Festival Chauffer dans la Noirceur, Montmartin-sur-Mer
September 22nd–23rd – Morgen Festival, Zelande
September 27th – Teatro Sá de Bandeira, Porto
September 29th – Moby Dick, Madrid
September 30th – Razz 3, Barcelona
October 2nd – Le Krakatoa, Bordeaux
October 4th – L’Amperage, Grenoble
October 5th – La Maroquinerie, Paris
October 6th – L’Aeronef, Lille
October 7th – Kantine, Cologne
October 9th – Im Wizemann, Stuttgart
October 10th – Plaza, Zurich
October 12h – Freiheitshalle, Munich
October 13th – Beatpol, Dresden
October 14th – Gruenspan, Hamburg
October 15th – Columbia Theater, Berlin
October 17th – Ancienne Belgique, Brussels
October 18th – TivoliVredenburg – Ronda Hall, Utrecht
October 19th – Gleiss 22, Munster
October 20th – Muziekgieterij, Maastricht
October 21st – Metropool, Enschede
October 25th – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
October 26th – Exchange, Bristol
October 27th – Band on the Wall, Manchester
October 28th – The Workman’s Club – Cellar, Dublin
October 30th – Union Chapel, London
Subtle Love Tracklist:
Roulette
Tides
Learning to Dance
Subtle Love
Royal Blue
One Shot
Lament
Builder Boy
Trainride
Pale
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