All photos by Stefaan Temmerman
From their home in Belgium, Slow Crush have carved out a place at the forefront of modern shoegaze. The band’s distinct sound, built on shimmering textures and propulsive rhythms, has earned them a dedicated global following.
After a few years of deliberate quiet and reflection, they’re ready to re-emerge with something new and transformative. Their latest album, ‘Thirst’, released on Pure Noise Records, is a powerful leap forward. The band decamped to The Ranch in Southampton, U.K., to work with producer Lewis Johns, creating a ten-track cascade of sound that is both heavier and more emotionally resonant than anything they’ve done before.
‘Thirst’, is a testament to the band’s evolution. The record features a sonic cascade where gauzy riffs are cut with a new sense of grit. Vocalist and bassist Isa Holliday, drummer Frederik Meeuwis, and guitarists Jelle Ronsmans and Nic Placlé recorded an album that captures a feeling of both endings and new beginnings. With ‘Thirst’, Slow Crush push beyond the boundaries of their critically acclaimed previous albums, ‘Aurora’ (Holy Roar_/_Quiet Panic, 2018) and ‘Hush’ (Church Road_/_Quiet Panic, 2021), to deliver a record that is at once their most powerful and personal to date.
Special thanks to Bailey Sattler at Another Side for the coordination and to Isa for the interview.
James Broscheid: Good morning or good evening rather.
Isa Holliday: Good day!
JB: Good day. Was it a good day for you?
IH: It was an interesting day. I spent the morning at the U.S. Consulate actually.
JB: I’m sorry.
IH: We had to finalize our visas, but we’re through, so it’s all good. It’s definitely a day for celebration.
JB: Was that an arduous process?
IH: Well, it’s just lengthy. That’s one way of putting it. I think we started the process late last year and had to spend many dollars to get it expedited, because even after nine months, it still was not moving. We made it in the end so, hopefully it’s all good.
JB: When do you start the tour over here?
IH: The first day of our tour is the 4th of September. So, yeah, it was a bit nerve-wracking and some nail biting to wait for our documents to finally be processed, but we’re there. The rest of the band still has to go tomorrow, but at least half of us are through. We’re looking forward to it for sure.
JB: I saw you play the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix.
IH: Yeah, we love that place! We played there a couple of times now; it’s a great venue. It’s kind of nostalgic for some reason.
JB: It’s probably my favorite venue up there next to Olla Olla Crepes and Linger Longer Lounge. The Rhythm Room too, right down the road from Rebel Lounge. That place was really cool, too. It’s been around for years and used to cater to a lot of indie and underground acts for a while. So many venues have opened up since then so some of the diversity of independent venues seems to have waned. It’s been pretty frustrating, but I do love Rebel Lounge. It’s a cool place.
IH: This time around, we’re playing the Crescent Ballroom. I don’t know if you’ve been there before?
JB: I have. Crescent has good sound. I think you guys will like playing there.
IH: We’ll see what we can do!
JB: Play Tucson!
IH: We did play, I think, last time round. We, unfortunately, can’t fit everything into this. We should be coming back next year, so.
JB: That’s one thing I like about Slow Crush is that you are over here quite a bit playing shows. You’re one band that can be depended on!
IH: Yeah, as long as we can!
JB: So I’ll start by talking about Thirst. The record has been described as a metamorphosis for Slow Crush and I wanted to see if you could elaborate on what that transformation entailed, both thematically and sonically.
IH: I think just as a band we’re constantly evolving. That’s something that I think can be heard in in all of our albums. There is a progression while maintaining a typical slipperous tone, I’d say. But I think just in the amount of times we’ve played and in our travels to play, there’s always a learning process involved. So I think that is definitely something that can be followed with each of our releases. I think in in terms of metamorphosis to this record, it is kind of a big step that we’ve made with bigger changes. I think that we’ve made with our recording and writing and producing process. Moving slightly away from people that we’ve worked with before; not for bad reasons. We went back to the ranch, The Ranch Production House in Southampton (Hampshire, UK). That’s where we’ve recorded ‘Aurora’ and where we work heavily together with for ‘Hush’ as well, because we were not physically able to get there. From Belcher City UK at that time. We went back there this time, and we recorded with Lewis Johns, he was the producer for this record, whereas previously we were working with Neil Kennedy. That was a big change. Just knowing that Lou’s style is a little bit heavier, he’s used to working with a lot harder bands than Slow Crush. We were really interested to see what kind of twists that he could make to our sound and, just in general, to boost the music that we’ve had in our heads.
JB: Was that achieved?
IH: I think so. For so long, we always tried to track as quickly as possible, so we have a little studio at home where I’m sitting right now as we’re speaking. As soon as an idea comes up, we try and get that on the computer as quickly as possible and then just build the layers from there. That’s something that we were working on, just practicing and getting it into muscle memory before going into the recording studio. And working with somebody new, there’s always a little bit of anticipation, and perhaps a little bit of anxiety.
JB: I could imagine!
IH: We had total faith in Lou. I mean, we love everything else that he’s done up until now, which is obviously the reason why we trusted him with our record. We can just honestly say that we were completely blown away with all of the little touches, like little minute things that he came up with that we could have imagined so, I think that’s a big metamorphosis, a big cocoon woman! And another big thing is, we’re now signed to Pure Noise Records so, that’s a much bigger label. We were working with Church Road before. Um, and Quiet Panic Records. We love those guys and we’re still in contact with them all. Justine (Jones) and Sammy (Urwin) from Church Road are good friends of ours, so we still hang out whenever we’re close by. Uh, yeah. So, now, with Pure Noise, we’re excited to see how far their tentacles can reach to bring us to places that we’ve never been! We’re already seeing that there are a lot of new listeners. I think Pure Noise is also not a typical shoegaze label. They’re branching out into genres that they’re now releasing, which I think is great, because we’ve always been sort of the odd one out, but then, we can fit in everywhere. I think the style of music that we play or just what we personally bring to the music from our previous musical backgrounds, we’ve all played in different kinds of bands before, I think that it can merge and mesh to bring the listeners something that they can tap into, something familiar. When it’s something completely new. So, we’re excited to see what new loyal, Pure Noise listeners accept us and embrace us.
JB: Makes sense. If you’re a good label and you’re a fan of music, you obviously are curious to check out the other artists on the label. It’s pretty natural to do that.
IH: Yeah, and I think we’re seeing it already. I think coming to the U.S. now on tours. I think that it will be an eye-opener to see maybe some new faces out there.
JB: I consider Slow Crush to be on the heavier side of shoegaze. Having listened to ‘Thirst’, it’s even heavier and has more emotional vocals. How did you approach achieving that balance in the studio and also during mixing? You mentioned Louis Johns earlier. How did his input help shape the final sound, combining all those elements?
IH: I think he definitely added an extra layer of heaviness, too. It was always there, but I think he just amplified it. There were various mixes sent back to us that sometimes we thought were too much. It’s like a little too much of a Sprinkle. We worked with him very openly. We’re always happy to share our honest thoughts and we managed to come to a perfect balance, I think. You can hear the light touches for sure. It’s definitely a fresher sound. It’s got a fresher feel while still being heavy. It was also a case of being able to kind of let go of the reins a little bit. We were plainly sold for quite a while. Just in our receipt in in a space. So, you know, sometimes something is so ingrained in your head, that if it changes, it doesn’t feel right and it takes a while to kind of negotiate and convince yourself that it’s totally fine and it is going to be better. So there were those kind of elements in the studio. But again, we trusted him and he made it what it is so, (to Louis Johns) thank you!
JB: The results came out really well if you ask me.
IH: Yeah, we’re very, very happy.
JB: When reading the background on this album, you had reported experiencing significant emotional vulnerability during the recordings. Could you share a bit about that process and how it influenced the album’s sound and lyrics?
IH: It’s definitely something that is an album where we did let go. Whenever I go on stage, I tell myself, “Okay, you just have to be one with the music.” You have to forget about everything else like whether you’ve turned your oven off or not! (James laughs). Just be on the stage and just let the music take you where it wants you to go. That I felt was something that was the slogan for this album. The music just touched me so deeply that it was hard for me to sing some of the lyrics. Not just because of the words and the vocabulary. The melodies in songs like “While You Dream Vividly”, that’s one. And “Haven” as well. I think in “Haven” you can hear, or at least I felt, that there’s a slightly different convert to my voice in that song. With me releasing the emotions at that point where I’m usually quite soft. With “Haven”, I let it go a little bit more and that’s just where the music took me so. Yeah, that’s the story behind that pretty much.
JB: Wow, that’s pretty wild.
IH: Yeah, I can report that on stage, it’s a lot easier. I think that when we got to that point of recording, we’d had a pretty busy year before, so leading up to last year we were on the road touring heavily and it is quite draining. Touring and playing shows, it gives you energy. But then when you’re sitting in a van all day it can be pretty draining and pretty tiring. Last year we took it a little bit slower, focusing on preparing for the record. I think that’s just how everything was building up and the release came in the studio knowing that this is it. This is the moment that we have worked for this long. That’s another thing that perhaps added to the emotion. That we felt that way.
JB: Yeah, I always feel for bands on tour because you have these moments where you play live and you’re releasing all this energy and intensity. It’s only for a short duration really out of all the hours in the day, you release this adrenalin, and then pack up, get back in the van, head back out on the road. Those moments of lows and highs. I don’t know how bands do it because, as a fan, that energy boost from a show could make me drive from Los Angeles to home after seeing a great band/performance. I could drive all through the night to get home. I can go on the adrenaline from a good show. That energy can sustain me for a good 12 hours after the show. I just don’t know how bands do it, you know?
IH: Yeah, I think it’s exactly that. You get that adrenaline on stage, so it has to be reciprocated. Your adrenaline is also a limited resource, so, at one point, it’s all going to drop and, and you, nothing left. Um, but still, uh, you know, if you’re on a tour you, you can’t, you can’t let that slide. You have to find energy somewhere, whether it’s in Red Bulls or black coffee! It is something that perhaps gets taken for granted a lot. I’m not saying this, because of what we were talking about earlier, James. There are a lot of people that say, “Oh, but why aren’t you playing this tiny city or this tiny town?” As I said, there are already so many days in the year. Yeah, and there are so many days that you’re allowed to be in America!
JB: Then, it’s getting shorter, right?
IH: Yeah, and you have to pick and choose sometimes and again, like the amount of time that you spend in a van to get from A to B, it has to be a logical decision as well. The routine has to make sense. It’s like with schoolteachers. You only see the hours that they’re working, actually spent teaching, but then all of the hours of preparation that goes on after hours. It’s similar to B Anthony, only we do it in different hours of the day, or maybe it’s all actually all day long, right? Because we’re playing in the evening, but then we’ve spent the rest of the day on a tiny amount of sleep. God knows how many miles to the next show, so we do it with love. We do enjoy it. I’m making it sound really negative (both laugh). So, honestly, this is something that we do look forward to. It’s been a long time since we’ve done a long tour. As I mentioned, we took it easy last year. We did go to the States, but this is going to be heavy, the one we’re starting in September, and we’re only coming home for a brief, five to eight days, that’s not long enough. After the U.S. tour, we go to the UK, and then we do Europe, the rest of Europe in December. It’s going to be a long stretch that we have to see each other’s faces every morning, but yeah, we make it work. I mean, we’re adults now. We know when people need their space or at least we make it clear when we need our space!
JB: Yeah, that’s got to be tough.
IH: Yeah, but as I said, we get a lot of energy from playing those shows, and it’s always great to see crowds go crazy for the songs and seeing people singing along and dancing. That is something that we try and mirror. So, if you guys go crazy, we go crazy, too.
JB: Did the band have any specific sonic touch tones or influences that were consciously explored when you were writing/recording ‘Thirst’?
IH: That would probably be a question for Jelle (Ronsmans, guitar) because he’s been through so many different guitar pedals over the last couple of years. I know that those are always inspirations. There are certain sounds that sometimes he has a pedal for, you know, just playing around with the knobs and finds a specific tone, and that can kick off a whole inspiration for a song. I think inspirations just can come from anywhere. We’ve been inspired by an ice cream truck before (both laugh)! On this album, we’ve got a couple of soundscapes as well. Like, I’ve built, that’s a very different track, perhaps to the rest of Slow Crush’s portfolio but it’s something that also came out of a little Is heard, and there was just expanded on. So, yeah, inspiration can come from anywhere.
JB: Do you find it maybe in sound checks too? You have played a lot of shows like we talked about, do you find that maybe a sound or a verse, or a chord will come from sound checks or other ideas while you’re on the road because you do have those times in between shows?
IH: Definitely, we’ve had some demos that we caught at sound checks. Yeah, for sure. Also just in odd moments, you know, I think moments that the most inspiration comes from are when you’re least expecting it. Like, if you’re riding a bike in town or something, and then suddenly, an idea come up in your head, and then you stop, and quickly do a voice note. It’s usually in those odd moments when, when your mind is completely free, that it allows itself to wander into a song.
JB: Nice! The first two records were pretty well received and critically acclaimed. How do you see ‘Thirst’ fitting into the band’s overall discography and evolution?
IH: Yeah, yeah, we touched on that a little earlier. I think it is just an evolution of everything, like accumulation of everything we’ve ever done and what we’ve learned so far. I think this is just a more powerful record and it’s got variation that kind of touches on everything that Slow Crush means and sonically, I think, is very diverse. I also like to think of it as a flow of conscious version of, melancholy, and the internet service, where there’s like a total mood switch from site a to site B. So, that diversity is definitely something that depicts our evolution. Also, it shows how we’re not afraid to reveal our yin and yang sides. I think sometimes, you know, bands like to stick with playing it safe.
JB: I agree.
IH: We’ve never felt that way because not only would it be boring for the fans, but also for ourselves. That diversity is just something that feels natural to us. I think that we’ve managed to represent that well.
JB: How has the dynamic within the band changed from ‘Aurora’ to now with ‘Thirst’?
IH: Well, we’ve been through a couple of lineup changes and that’s just because as you grow up, sometimes it gets in the way, um. So, yeah, Jelle and I are the OG members, we’ve been here from the start. But unfortunately, due to health reasons or family reasons, I think our touring schedule isn’t the easiest for a lot of people to combine with home life. That’s just how we’ve sort of grown into the different lineups, but we’ve been playing with Freddie, our drummer, for a long time already. Everybody that has been in Slow Crush, they’re all old friends. We’ve all played together in some shape or form, in different combinations before. That’s just something that we like, I don’t know. Slow, precious family man, yeah, we. We know that we have to get along with whom we’re touring with, and it’s always easier, with these types of people. We always tend to look for old friends if we need somebody to fill in. Preferably people that we’ve played with musically before, but it’s the way it always made it easier because if you know each other’s playing style, you can play off of that. It is a lot easier to work together and write together and play live. So, that’s how the dynamics have changed over the years.
JB: Can you run down, who’s in Slow Crush now, and what roles they play?
IH: Sure. So, I play bass and sing. Then we have Jelle Ronsmans, and he plays lead guitar and also provided vocals on this record. Freddie Meeuwis, he’s on drums and Nic Placklé, who is our other guitar player.
JB: I can’t wait to see you guys again, by the way. We talked about the new record label and hopefully exposing the band to a wider audience. Say a listener’s first exposure to the band is ‘Thirst’. What do you hope listeners take away from not only the band but the record itself?
IH: I just say, let the music take you where it wants you to go. I think as I mentioned before, there’s a little bit of Slow Crush that will speak to you, no matter what you listen to. I mean, I’ve heard us being compared to the Melvins before.
JB: Wow! Really?
IH: Yeah, it’s just odd. I mean it’s beautiful and odd at the same time to see where how people will make a connection to us.
JB: The Melvins?
IH: Yeah, for real. And Devin Townsend as well. Um. And I think that’s just the thing, right? You know you. You’ve always got, um, like, if you go to a record store, then often there’s a sticker that says profound. Um, but I think that’s just so hard to kind of place this worker because. Because we presenters everything or just the fastest workers. Yeah. It. It’s, uh, yeah, I, I think, um, yeah, just listen to First, and I’m sure you’ll find something that that tickles your fancy. Yeah, for sure.
JB: And, and we talked about it earlier. Do you think, once you’re on stage, you need to change the attitudes in the audience if you’re not getting the response you want?
IH: We tap into your energy, but we also tried to, you know, wait. Am I making sense? I mean, we will try to tap into your energy and pull it out. As I mentioned when we started, we try to live in the moment and forget about everything else, and that is exactly what we want you guys to do as well. Doing one in the world right now. That is, it’s mostly alcohol, unfortunately. I think something that we forget to do is take a moment for ourselves and just enjoy where we are right now. So, that’s what we want you to do during our concerts, or when you’re sitting in your car or sitting in your bedroom listening to our record. Just listen to yourself and listen to us and let the music take you somewhere where you have no worries.
JB: That’s a good way to end. Thank you for your time, and I’m really looking forward to seeing you in Phoenix.
IH: Yeah, looking forward to seeing you next month. Thank you so much, James. Take care. Good day!
Listen to or purchase ‘Thirst’ on the band’s Bandcamp page or check out their Hello Merch collection. See the band on tour at one of the following dates:
North America
Sep 04: Allentown, PA – Arrow
Sep 05: Philadelphia, PA – The Foundry
Sep 06: Boston, MA – The Sinclair
Sep 07: Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
Sep 09: Montreal, QC – Bar Le Ritz
Sep 10: Toronto, ON – Velvet Underground
Sep 11: Detroit, MI – El Club
Sep 12: Chicago, IL – Reggie’s
Sep 13: Indianapolis, IN – HiFi
Sep 14: St. Louis, MO – Off Broadway
Sep 16: Fort Worth, TX – Tulips
Sep 17: Austin, TX – The Ballroom
Sep 19: Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
Sep 20: Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
Sep 21: Oakland, CA – Crybaby
Sep 23: Seattle, WA – El Corazon
Sep 24: Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
Sep 26: Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge
Sep 27: Denver, CO – Marquis Theatre
Sep 29: Kansas City, MO – RecordBar
Oct 01: Nashville, TN – The ’58
Oct 02: Atlanta, GA – The Masquerade
Oct 03: Durham, NC – The Fruit
Oct 04: Richmond, VA – The Broadberry
Oct 05: Washington, DC – Union Stage
UK, Ireland, Europe
Oct 16: Bristo – The Fleece
Oct 17: Milton Keynes – Craufurd Arms
Oct 18: London – Oslo
Oct 20: Glasgow – Classic Grand Lounge
Oct 21: Belfast – Black Box
Oct 22: Dublin – Grand Social
Oct 23: Manchester – Rebellion
Oct 24: Newcastle – The Grove
Oct 25: Leeds – Key Club
Oct 26: Nottingham – Bodega
Oct 27: Birmingham – Hare & Hounds
Oct 28: Southampton – Joiners
Oct 31: AB Ancienne Belgique – Brussels, BE
Nov 01: Rotown – Rotterdam, NL
Nov 02: Ekko – Utrecht, NL
Nov 04: Headcrash – Hamburg, DE
Nov 05: Beta2300 – Copenhagen, DK
Nov 06: Badehaus – Berlin, DE
Nov 08: Dürer Kert – Budapest, HU
Nov 09: Das Werk – Vienna, AT
Nov 11: Kranhalle – München, DE
Nov 12: ISC Club – Bern, CH
Nov 13: Bronson – Ravenna, IT
Nov 14: Slaughter Club – Milan, IT
Nov 15: O Totem Live – Lyon, FR
Nov 16: Le Rex – Toulouse, FR
Nov 18: Upload – Barcelona, ES
Nov 19: Nazca – Madrid, ES
Nov 20: Stage Live – Bilbao, ES
Nov 22: Sortie 13 – Bordeaux, FR
Nov 23: Le ferrailleur – Nantes, FR
Nov 25: Backstage by the Mill – Paris, FR
Nov 26: Jubez – Karlsruhe, DE
Nov 27: Stummsche Reithalle – Neunkirchen, DE
Nov 28: Café Wagner – Jena, DE
Nov 29: UT Connewitz – Leipzig, DE
Nov 30: Helios 37 – Köln, DE
