After a bit of a delay, Slater Summer is finally underway! The Southern California native, who has been releasing a constant stream of music for 10+ years, graces us with yet another summertime release, providing his fans with a perfect excuse to call out from work and hit the beach. The album comes in at 23 minutes and arrives on the heels of the cross-country and international Still Burnt Tour, which ended less than a month before the LP's June 28th release date. The album cover is credited to fellow Vada Vada member Cowgirl Clue and the production of the album was done by Slater himself, with co-production from Devin O'Brien and background work from a number of different artists.
"I wanna know what it's like / to break out of the mud / to pull apart the chain / and know it's not in vain"
The album kicks off with the same energy that most Slater songs have: fast drums backing up a melody which feels like it's running away from something on "Race to Nowhere". He matches this pace perfectly though, complementing the instrumental intensity with his lyrics and flow, building up to a passionate yell by the end. This is followed up by the title track, "FM Thoughts", which presents a hard-rock backing track with synths playing over the top of it. It also doubles up on the genre switching during its hook, with a drumline which sounds like it belongs on a rap song. Yet, all of this together manages to flow perfectly as Slater meshes all of his musical influences into a single cohesive sound.
He continues this exciting blending of sounds on "Familia" and "Santa Ana Bounce", two songs which sound like classic Slater, but now have an even more intriguing composition. This is a trend for many songs on the album and is sure to make fans confident that he is still far from his peak and constantly looking to improve upon his sound. Following this up is "The Water's Calling", a fitting title for the album, as well as for the majority of Slater's music. It is also the only song on the album with a singing feature, via talented singer and producer Louie Dufflebags. He is given the hook, which he absolutely kills, and he is also credited with helping write the song.
"A blood orange sun looks so red / he's lighting up / his panicking turns to manic / he's zooted up"
The album wraps up with two songs which Slater has already released: "Lost Industries" at track six and "He's Always Down for Something" at track eight. You can find my full review of the former here. The latter is a very interesting song, with the instrumental sporadically switching from rock to calypso, yet blending the two like a world-class sous chef, while Slater tells a story about a man who has nothing to lose. These songs are interceded by what is personally my favorite song on the album, "Inglorious Rise". According to Slater himself, it's a song dedicated to his aunt who passed away in the past year and stresses the importance of keeping the memory of loved ones alive, as he does through the song. Though it may seem like an out of place message for a happy summer album, it emphasizes how important it is to remember people in a joyful way and celebrate life.
Three years since dropping his last album (not including a best hits album released in 2023), Slater has shown his fans yet again that he is just as motivated and creative as he was when he started. The album has everything you need for the summer: fast paced songs which can revitalize a stuffy house party, slow jams for when you want to kick back and relax, and songs which would go perfectly with a day trip to the beach. He is also preparing to go on yet another tour in the near future and has mentioned that new dates will be posted soon. Thus, Slater stays hard at work, while providing his fans with music which they can listen to while taking a break from their own work. Slater has also just conducted an AMA on Reddit where you can learn a lot more about the man behind the music by reading through this thread.
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