Slow Pulp
The Foundry October 31, 2023
October 31, 2023
It is the eve of Halloween and everyone in The Foundry is dressed to the nines. From scantily clad vampires to the smash bros, the Halloween spirit was high in the air as Slow Pulp (disguised on this night as the members of “The Mystery Gang”) took the stage. After a brief moment to allow guitar player Henry Stoehr to remove their scooby doo head, the band rolled into the set filling the room with the warm dream-like guitar riffs and nostalgic drums of “Idaho.”
The crowd stood transfixed throughout the show as a slow burn of raw melodies and entrancing basslines crept from the amplifiers and into the audience. There was a tangible deepness to the performance from the band with the setlist featuring songs extraordinarily fitting for the night’s holiday, as they highlighted the scariest song subject of them all: feelings.
This culminated in the song “Falling Apart,” a warm embrace of a tune that discusses the comfort in the fact that omnipresent feelings of despair and inadequacy are not for the lonely soul but felt by everyone. As a four-piece band, the room never felt lacking in emotion and harmonies as each member melted into one another to create a unique yet unified sound.
Originally founded in Madison, Wisconsin, but since adopted by the Chicago music scene, Slow Pulp consists of members Emily Massey (vocals/guitar), Alex Leeds (bass/vocals), Teddy Mathews (drums), and Henry Stoehr (guitar). Their sound can only be described as a meld of laid back shoegaze dream pop dotted with punchy songs reminiscent of something that you may have heard spin off one of The Cranberries albums in the 1990s.
Our first time seeing Slow Pulp was back in 2018 when they opened on their tour with band Post Animal where they first captivated the audience with their vivacious discography. Slow Pulp is currently touring for their latest album Yard, a mellowed album containing songs fit for anything from speeding down a night road to laying in the middle of the driveway and staring at the sky; and with soulfully engaging performances we can only hope to have them back in Philly soon.
Make sure to check out Slow Pulp’s latest release, Yard on Spotify and all other streaming platforms as well as the rest of the night’s pictures in the photo gallery below.
-Before Tomorrow
