Northbound - Death of a Slug

Northbound

Death of a Slug

https://northboundfl.bandcamp.com

                Stop.  Think of the last alternative band you enjoyed.  Was it uptempo?  Were the vocals clear and sung in that prototypical flat alternative style?  Were the lyrics relationship-heavy and angsty?  Were the guitars seemingly fueled by distortion?  Then you already know what Northbound’s Death of a Slug sounds like.  Much in the way the British Invasion brought a sonic theme across the pond with tunes that seemed relatively interchangeable but always enjoyable, modern alternative seems to “suffer” a similar through-line.  But, just as any British Invasion fan’s collection must include some Beatles, it can’t neglect the Hollies or Herman’s Hermits.  A genre doesn’t get and stay popular on the uniqueness of a single band.

                Describing Northbound thus sounds like criticism, but should instead be taken as a descriptive assist for readers.  If you like your alternative skewed to the Blink-182 side of the genre, you’ll like Northbound; they’ve captured the style perfectly and will nestle nicely in your playlist.  I could tediously plow through each track and discuss the variations on the musical and lyrical themes they wallow in.  Instead, a few titles from the twelve tunes Northbound crammed onto Death of a Slug should help cement the description above.

If “Leech,” “Everyone But Me,” “The Effort is Never Worth the Outcome,” “Dropout,” “Half Drunk – Fully Alone,” and “I Want to Hate The World” don’t help you grasp what Death of a Slug sounds like, you’re probably not the target audience.  Hailing from Boca Raton, Florida, this re-release (the first version had 10 tracks, 5 of which were acoustic) features some quality performances and captures the pure essence of why kids (and it’s generally kids, what with the relationship-angst lyrics and all) enjoy alternative music.  Jonothan Fraser, the band’s founder (and main mover and shaker) re-released Death of a Slug with Cody Badgley and Kevin Lopez on all twelve tunes, but Fraser can and will perform acoustically solo when he wants/needs to.

                Northbound’s Death of a Slug certainly deserves a place on any alternative fan’s playlist, as exemplars of the genre, they will feel as familiar and comfortable as everything else on your playlist; their angst, their whining and their music could have easily been released any time in the last twenty years and been as well-crafted and enjoyable and genre-fitting as it is today.