Slow Code’s excellent Marketable Skills may have slipped under the radar for most people.
It was released late in 2015 (December 18th to be exact) by a smaller Seattle based record label. Glory Kid LTD is only small in terms of distribution and money associated with the ability to pursue their passion. That passion is bringing really good music to your ears and they do that in a big way. Marketable Skills has taken a while for me to fully digest. I have had my paws on Marketable Skills since before the release date and I knew instantly that liked it. I just didn’t know the full extent of how much I would fall in love with it.
You might be wondering why it would take so long to form an opinion that would motivate me to write about five tracks spanning over 22 minutes. There was just something that felt so familiar yet completely unique about Slow Code’s Marketable Skills and I couldn’t quiet put my finger on what it was that I was relating to. I decided that for me the feeling came from growing up listening to angst riddled rock from the likes of Taking Back Sunday and Thursday. No, Slow Code doesn’t sound anything like those bands. Also, Slow Code doesn’t have the level of emo that Thursday carried and is not as pop forward as Taking Back Sunday. Slow Code’s lyrics relate to me in a similar way but they are thematically more mature. I’m not actually sure how old the band is so maybe I am immature and I am relating to youngsters or they are older souls and can relate to us thirty-somethings. Either way, I dig the way they write their songs. One of my favorite lines comes from the song “Hog-Morse,” “crack the code/to your steps/a lifetime spent in a synapse/THIS IS THE DOWNSIDE OF WHEN SIGNALS COME IN CLEAR.” It feels like a lot of time and thought went into the stories Slow Code wants to tell.
You will definitely make the comparisons to various bands from the 90s post-hardcore scene when you listen to Slow Code. A band that I think about in terms of similar sound for me is a current band though. Survival Knife. Obviously they have their own sound but it is a comparison that is always on my mind. That would be a wicked double bill! Slow Code call themselves a “Seattle WA-based dirge-punk power trio. Overcaffeinated, pensive, dissonant”. I couldn’t agree with that description more. It is hard to believe that Marketable Skills is the debut for them, Slow Code sounds like a well oiled machine that is ready to help you get through the shittiest of Mondays. Slow Code has a bright future and I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us next. Pour yourself a large cup of coffee, put on your headphones and get lost in this promising band’s first release as soon as you can!
Rating: 4.25/5
Pick up a copy of the album in digital format or on limited edition cassette (edition of 100) over here –> Slow Code – Marketable Skills
Slow Code are going on a mini West Coast tour. Check them out if you are near one of these cities (tour dates and links below)!
02/25/16
Seattle WA @ Kraken Bar
w/ Signalman, Seminars, Enumclaw
03/12/16
Seattle WA @ Fusion Cafe
w/ Edhochuli, Hang the Old Year
03/18/16
Portland OR @ Black Water Bar
w/ Where My Bones Rest Easy
03/21/16
San Diego CA @ Tower Bar
w/ Where My Bones Rest Easy
03/22/16
Los Angeles CA @ Union
w/ Where My Bones Rest Easy
03/23/16
Oakland CA @ the Night Light
w/ Where My Bones Rest Easy, Lysine