There is a sense on Melodie that Slow Pulp are taking things a bit more seriously. Both Moveys and Yard were self produced by guitarist and songwriter Henry Stoehr. Now, on their third record, second on Anti-, they’ve brought in producer Elliott Kozel who shares credit with Stoehr and singer Emily Massey. With recent credit on Rosalia’s maximal Lux, Kozel is a qualified candidate to help corral Slow Pulp’s varied productions.

The “Slow Pulp sound” has a wide spectrum, from buzzy alternative rock to colorful melancholy. The one gargantuan exception is Melodie’s lead single “Better Man,” a stadium-sized banger that feels like a direct reaction to opening for Gibbard and company. “Better Man” features Massey stepping triumphantly into the spotlight with soaring vocals. There is a healthy variety of power-pop chord burners, like title track “Melodie” and “Red Car.” Massey has intricate control of her delivery which accentuates the variety on the album. In “Red Car” Massey takes the Ocasek approach, delivering lines in a cool collected manner. You can practically hear the sunglasses. Melodie counterbalances too-for-school rocking with emotive ballads, like the tear-filled “Not For Nothing”. Massey cuts with raw delivery in the chorus “Learning how to let go of you / That’s the hardest part for me to get through.” Closer “Slip Away” strips down the album's production leaving only Massey’s vocal and Stoehr’s guitar to deliver the final blow, and it’s a wallop.

Melodie proves that Slow Pulp has the ability to thrive at a new level. This new batch of songs has all the variety you’ve come to expect from the band, but it is noticeably dialed in. In contrast to their early material Melodie it’s a mature turn for a band that stood out with their playfulness. The content of Moldie embodies this inflection point with reflections on being unsatisfied in a relationship or one’s own default state, but not knowing how to change. Slow Pulp are recognizable but it feels like their sights have shifted to a grander vision of themselves. It’s only been 3 years since Yard but hearing Slow Pulp now feels different, like they have traded their thrifted clothes for a trendier fashion. In “Red Car” Massey sings “I need a new start,” and that’s what Melodie feels like, a new beginning, a reintroduction.

Order Melodie by Slow Pulp HERE