Described as 'an adorable piece of psychedelia', The Slow Down is the second album from Scottish duo, Japan Review. I've been sat on this album since the end of November last year, having listened to it many times, I really don't know where to begin. While not horror focussed at all, this shoegaze forty four album was a trip into nostalgia for me.
I always preface my music reviews by saying I don't have the faintest idea what I'm writing about, with nary a musical bone in my body. My first impressions were that Japan Review sound like a cross between Interpol, Mew, and Radiohead. They have dreamy introspective tunes done in a purposeful low-fi fashion. Many of their tracks have a melancholic wistful nature to the lyrics, featuring a type of mild beat that could go on for double the length that it does without ever outstaying its welcome, such as can be seen on second track 'David Chicane'. At times they create echoes of the more chilled out moments in exploitation action video game Hotline Miami ('Go Around') something most welcoming to hear.
The stand out track for me was probably title track 'The Slow Down' coming around halfway through the album. Many of the tracks share a similar slow feel to them, nearly always tinged with sadness to the sound of the lyrics. You have ones like 'It's North It's North' that devolves at the halfway point into a slower sound. 'Oblique One' adds in more of an electronic feel. The final track, 'Lou Deer' was a great way to end the album, having a more optimistic and cheerful sound than what came before, but still with that glimmer of sadness.
Abandoning any attempt to link this to horror, I thought The Slow Down was a good album, with tracks that were put together well. For once the cover for the album I felt perfectly reflected the low-fi nostalgic sounds contained within. All in all, I was on board for the sound of Japan Review, will be checking out their other work. The Slow Down was released in November of last year.
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