Norway’s Sløtface is Led by vocalist Haley Shea with guitarist Tor-Arne Vikingstad, bassist Lasse Lokøy and Halvard Skeie Wiencke on drums, with every move they make, Sløtface look to spin conventions on their head – with debut album Try Not To Freak Out dropping September 15th on Propeller Recordings.

On their new single ‘Magazine’, Sløtface challenge absurd body image standards: “Thoughts that aren’t mine keep running through my head… Thunder thighs keeps reaching for the measuring tape,” Haley sings, and perfectly distills the dissonance between knowing intellectually that these images are bullshit, but still feeling drawn to live up to them.

Haley explained: “I really wanted to write a killer breakup song, but I’ve never really had any experience with heartbreaking, devastating, aggressive breakups, so I thought I would write a breakup song about breaking up with bad body image and unrealistic representations of human bodies in media. It’s fuelled by the back and forth of knowing that society creates unrealistic expectations regarding what people “should” look like, and still feeling uncomfortable in your own skin because you don’t live up to those images.”

Speaking of the blustering, spirited punk anthem in the making, the band said: “We were essentially trying to make what would be the perfect soundtrack to an early 2000s high school rom-com — like American Pie or something…and thought we would try to write the perfect opening credits song.”

It’s a record made for the height of summer, for punching a pillow, or for drowning out the rest of the world. And it’s all the better for Sløtface’s unique lyrical perspective; Haley’s lyrics aren’t explicitly gendered, but she transcends indie rock bravado and self-pity, and instead dismantles the patriarchal structures that hurt everyone.

The band will be heading out on tour in the UK as main support to Los Campesinos! at the end of April, followed by another UK tour in May with The Cribs.

Sløtface
Try Not To Freak Out
tracklisting

1. Magazine
2. Galaxies
3. Pitted
4. Sun Bleached
5. Pools
6. Night Guilt
7. Try
8. Nancy Drew
9. Slumber
10. Backyard