Slow Pulp take a yard with creative new album.

L-R: Teddy Matthews, Alex Leeds, Emily Massey and Henry Stoehr. Image: Alexa Viscius.

Slow Pulp are guitarist Henry Stoehr, drummer Teddy Mathews, bassist Alex Leeds and lead singer/guitarist Emily Massey. Following three self-released EPs, 2020’s long-player Moveys scored positive reviews and support slots with the likes of Pixies. Yard, their first album since moving to new label ANTI-, is out this September and they’ll spend the rest of 2023 touring North America and Europe.

Formed in Wisconsin in 2015, they were originally a trio until Massey was brought on board. “They asked me to join as an auxiliary member, as a rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist. I didn’t really intend to write any music with them, but then it slowly transformed into me singing more of the songs, and then writing more of the songs and somehow becoming the front person.” Seeking a more dynamic music scene, the band set up home together in Chicago five years ago. “That was our turning point of, we’re going to really try doing this a little bit more intently, more seriously. We also lived together, so we were always sharing music and talking about music.”

Strangely, Massey says, those conversations never covered what kind of music they wanted to make; instead, their diverse tastes have unconsciously infused the songs. “Especially right here on this record and our last record, there tends to be a pretty wide range. There might be an Americana folk-country-esque song, and then there’s a lot more of a 90s Breeders-esque song. We definitely share an affinity for a lot of early 2000s and 90s rock bands. The more folk-country style started to seep in because I had a big Joni Mitchell moment and a Lucinda Williams moment. I grew up listening to artists like that and it just felt natural to take some of the songs in that direction.”

“I tend to have these juxtapositions of brightness mixed with this underlying darker tone. And that happens all across the album”

— Emily

While Moveys was written in isolation out of necessity, Massey decided to repeat the experiment for Yard by moving to a cabin in rural Wisconsin. “I found that giving myself that type of space for a long time really allowed me to open up with myself, in a way that for some reason I can’t do as easily in a city, or in a house where other people are. I think especially for the lyric writing, I really love to just be alone.” The characteristic interplay of light and shade in Massey’s words is exemplified by the recent single “Doubt”: “If you weren’t listening to any of the lyrics, it’s this happy, summery, upbeat pop song. But the lyrics are pretty dark. I tend to have these juxtapositions of brightness mixed with this underlying darker tone. And that happens all across the album.”

Writing the songs is always a collaborative process between the four of them, as Massey explains. “Everyone will write guitar chords and usually it’s sent to me and then I’ll maybe change the structure a little bit and write the vocal melody. Then I’ll bring that back to the band and we’ll work out a loose live arrangement.” At this point, Stoehr, who is also the band’s producer, tends to take the reins. “He’s really great at understanding what world the song needs to live in and letting that guide what direction it goes towards.”

Stoehr was studying art at the University of Wisconsin–Madison when he and the rest of the band met Massey and they have previously used his artwork for singles such as “At Home”, “Steel Birds” and “Shadow”. By featuring another of his paintings, the cover for Yard shares in what has become a recognizable Slow Pulp aesthetic while perfectly representing the record’s theme. “It is really about being in community with people, and being in relationships with other people, and understanding how to navigate your understanding of relationships,” Massey says. “I felt it was really important for the album cover to have two figures, so it felt like this perfect fit.”

The painting also has personal resonances for Massey, who sees herself and her sister in the two figures. Their relationship inspired the lyrics to the album’s title track. “That’s probably the most lyrically raw song that I’ve ever written. It started out as guitar and vocal, but I loved that we switched it to piano: I think it has this quality that matches with the lyrics and the vocal delivery, and makes it really cool.” The family/community motif of Yard is further underlined by the involvement of her father and fellow musician, Michael Massey, in whose studio she recorded the vocals. “He knows the subject matter of the songs so intimately because he knows my life, and we’re very close and open with each other, so I think he’s able to pull out some quality that I might not have been able to do on my own. So I feel really lucky to have that relationship with him, and that we get to do that together is pretty special.”

Another song in which Massey explores her closest relationships is “Carina Phone 1000”, the lyrics written during her solitary cabin sojourn. “That song is about my best friend. I was having a really bad time – sometimes when you’re alone and you’re left to your devices, you’re just spiralling in your brain the whole time. They called me, and it was this weirdly perfect timing. I wrote the song right after our phone conversation.” Musically, it had a shaky start, with Massey unsure about “these kind of Goo Goo Dolls chords” that Mathews had sent her, but she soon found a way to develop it into what is now one of her favourite tracks on the album. “It was a fun challenge to take it a little bit out of that realm, at least vocally.” The extra ingredient that brought everything together was violinist Molly Germer’s contribution: “When she sent that back to us everything clicked into place. I cried when I heard her violin part. The way that song turned out, it is so emotional for me to hear it still. Even if you had such a big part in making the song, you can have this attachment as if it isn’t your song.”

Yard is out September 29th.

Author: Rachel Goodyear