Slothrust

Forging a muscular sound out of contrasting sonic vistas that include pop hooks, theatrical melodies, jazz-influenced chord voicings, rock rhythms, and sludgy guitars, Slothrust (“sloth-rust”) offer a unique spin on the angsty sounds of the ’90s. Led by singer/songwriter/guitarist Leah Wellbaum, the group’s label debut, 2014′s Of Course You Do, included a track that was adopted as the theme song to the FX series You’re the Worst. They continued to build and expand their sound with ambitious albums like The Pact and 2021′s Parallel Timeline as well as the 2023 EP I Promise. Formed by guitarist Leah Wellbaum, bass player Kyle Bann, and drummer Will Gorin, who met as music students at Sarah Lawrence College in the late 2000s, Slothrust self-released the four-song EP The Demo(n)s in 2010. Already establishing an alt-rock-inspired sound with their trademark mix of outré components, they followed it a year later with Live @ Southpaw. By then based in Brooklyn, New York, the band’s first full-length studio LP, Feels Your Pain, was released in 2012. Two years later, Ba Da Bing Records and Burger Records issued their sophomore LP, Of Course You Do. The single “7:30 AM” became the theme for the FX network comedy-drama You’re the Worst, which also debuted in 2014. Slothrust switched over to Dangerbird Records for their third full-length, 2016′s Everyone Else before the trio relocated to Los Angeles. They followed the move with the covers EP Show Me How You Want It to Be. Reflecting their diverse influences, it included songs originally by Britney Spears, Black Sabbath, and Louis Armstrong, among others. In the meantime, the band toured the U.S. and Europe with Highly Suspect and Manchester Orchestra, respectively. Recorded in L.A. with producer Billy Bush (Garbage, the Boxer Rebellion), their fourth studio album, The Pact, followed on Dangerbird in 2018. For their fifth album, Slothrust sought a more experimental sound, resulting in 2021′s spiritually questioning Parallel Timeline. In their typical eclectic fashion, the band’s next release, the 2023 EP I Promise, saw them putting their own spin on Ginuwine’s 1996 R&B hit “Pony.” ~ Marcy Donelson & Gregory Heaney