REVIEW: Slung - In Ways

Slung’s debut album In Ways feels like a pressure valve being slowly, deliberately released. Across its eleven tracks, the Brighton-based four-piece navigate trauma, power, and identity through tightly controlled chaos and emotionally honest songwriting. With each member bringing their own history, both musical and personal, the result is a record that feels

tense, deliberate, and above all, human.

The album opens with 'Laughter', a song that wastes no time getting to the core of what makes Slung tick. Guitarist Ali Johnson lays down serrated riffs while drummer Ravi Martin pushes everything forward with precision. But it’s Katie Oldham’s vocals that land the heaviest blows. The song is about the damage inflicted by an emotionally absent parent, and her delivery walks the line between vulnerability and confrontation. It’s a powerful introduction that sets the tone for the rest of the record: personal pain refracted through tight, bruising songwriting.

Where 'Laughter' burns, 'Collider' simmers. Originally built around a demo from Zac Jackson of El Moono, the track follows a fictional cult who communicate with their deity through psychedelics. Despite the surreal concept, there’s a quiet unease running through it. Steady drums and restrained distortion make it feel like a fever dream slowly rising to the surface. Oldham’s vocal performance pulls it all together, never overselling the weirdness, just letting it unfold.

'Heavy Duty' deals with generational trauma and the imprint of patriarchal expectations. Written with Annie Dorett of CLT DRP, it captures a different kind of heaviness - the quiet, exhausting kind that sits in your bones. There’s a weariness to the way Oldham sings “you’re dragging me down,” but also a defiance. The track never fully explodes, instead lingering in the tension between what’s been inherited and what needs to be unlearned. It’s one of the album’s most affecting moments, not because it’s the loudest, but because it leaves space for reflection.

Elsewhere, the band digs into stories that are less autobiographical but no less sharp. 'Limassol', which began with Sick Joy’s Mykl Barton, turns a sun-bleached Cyprus resort into the setting for a slow-motion heartbreak. 'Come Apart', another standout, sounds like it could soundtrack the opening credits of a late-night crime series. Originally a demo by Projector’s Lucy Sheehan, the track blends desert guitar tones with creeping tension. Both songs feel cinematic, but never detached. There’s always something grounding them, whether it’s Vlad Matveikov’s undulating basslines or the clarity of Oldham’s storytelling.

The album’s final two tracks, 'Nothing Left' and 'Falling Down', pull the curtain back completely. Written in the aftermath of a painful breakup with a long-time friend and collaborator, these songs don’t try to be anything but raw. 'Nothing Left' in particular wears its melodrama proudly. Oldham has said she initially felt embarrassed by how over-the-top it was, but that’s part of what makes it land. There’s a kind of catharsis in how the vocals bend and stretch, especially in the final note - a nod to Paramore that feels earned rather than imitated.

As a debut, In Ways doesn’t feel like the start of something tentative. It’s not a toe dipped into the water. It’s a full-body plunge. The band’s live energy is already central to how they present themselves, and this record captures that with tightness, urgency, and the sense that nothing is being held back. Slung has made something that feels specific, personal, and sharp-edged, while still being inviting. There are moments of catharsis, but also moments of restraint, storytelling, and strange beauty. In Ways doesn’t offer easy resolution. It sits with discomfort, names it, and makes something powerful out of it.

Score: 7/10

In Ways will be released on May 2nd 2025 via Fat Dracula.

Words: Jason De Mendonca

Photos: Slung