Browsing Tag

Slender Dan

Step into the ethereal with Slender Dan’s leftfield trip-hop release, Field of Reeds

Posted on 16 August 2024

In their latest single, ‘Field of Reeds,’ the breakthrough duo, Slender Dan, affectingly intertwined ethereal strands of pop with the gritty undercurrents of leftfield electronica and the rhythmic complexity of trip-hop.

From the outset, this melodiously rendered explosion of style and beguile sinks its teeth into your senses, weaving shadowy notes with luminous beats to create a soundscape that spans the full emotional spectrum. The deep and resonant hooks pull listeners into a weightless, transcendent production, showcasing Slender Dan’s potential to hold dominion over the alt-electronica scene.

You couldn’t listen to the arcane yet soulful production half-heartedly if you tried. The glassy celestial vocals demand undivided attention as they drift through the soundscape which oscillates between chilling and warming the soul by echoing the intricate balance of light and dark.

Behind Slender Dan are Heather Dickson and Patrick Ahern, a duo whose previous collaborations have seen them grace stages and studios from Los Angeles to Nashville, alongside notable names like Portugal. The Man and David Z. The band first caught the public’s attention with a debut on KEXP in early 2021 and has since expanded their discography with the full-length album ‘GESTALT’, along with several impactful EPs.

The official music video for Field of Reeds premiered on August 9th; stream the video on YouTube or check out the track on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Slender Dan dawned an electro-pop awakening with ‘Every Morning the World is Created’

Posted on 10 May 2024

In their latest single, Every Morning the World is Created, Slender Dan captured the essence of electro-pop while infusing it with a soul-stirring spiritual motif. From Nashville’s avant-garde scene, the duo channels their fascination with the psychedelic facets of life into this track.

It’s a tribute not just to personal transformations such as motherhood and rebirth, as Heather of Slender Dan shares, but also to the musical forebears who have sculpted the landscape of synth-pop.

The autotuned vocals climb ceaselessly, crafting an ethereal canopy above the dense, moody beats. This striking contrast grounds the listener, even as the melody seeks to lift them into a transcendental state. Slender Dan adeptly navigates through the shadows of Radiohead and the luminescent arcs of Electric Light Orchestra, with nods to the digital heartbeats of The Human League and the introspective harmonies of Boygenius.

As we approach Mother’s Day, this single serves as a reflective medium on the cyclical nature of life and the continuous giving of our planet. Hit play, and let Slender Dan guide you through a musical exploration that encourages appreciation of our ever-giving world.

Stream Every Morning the World is Created via Spotify when it reaches the airwaves on May 10th.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Slender Dan orchestrated a superlative existential meditation with ‘Time is Running Out’

Posted on 2 March 2023

With vocals as ethereally magnetic as Cigarettes After Sex atop cinematically intricate Aphex Twin-ESQUE beats and apocalypse-centred lyricism, the latest single, Time is Running Out, by Slender Dan, is the ultimate existential meditation.

With chilling vocal samples alluding to how our child-like proclivities are the main reason behind our destructive tendencies that have led the earth to the point of collapse, there’s no exaggerating the sombreness of the dream-like Avant-Garde score. Yet, Slender Dan simultaneously succeeded in creating a tranquil feat of electronic ambience that will quell your end-of-days fears.

The striking mindfulness within the layers of lush reverb allows the tonally transcendent single to unravel as one of the superlative feats of post-modernism you could add to your playlists.

The Nashville-residing duo comprising Heather Dickinson (vox, keys, guitar, bass), and Patrick Ahern (drums, production, vox) debuted their first EP on KEXP in 2021 and has had its fair share of successes since. Time is Running Out is just one of the singles to feature on the forthcoming LP, GESTALT. In their own words, here is what it traverses:

“GESTALT is a 1 hour long, 19 track, avant-garde electronic album. With 13 songs and 6 interludes, Slender Dan presents a sobering critique of modern Orwellian forces- commenting on such topics as propaganda, censorship, the lack of consensus on truth, and the attempt to remain sane in the midst of insane times.”

Time is Running Out will officially release on March 2nd. Hear the official audio on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast