Sluggo delivers sonic daydreams and late-night lullabies on peaceful debut EP Sluggish Start.
Sluggo has released his debut EP, a fittingly unhurried four-track collection titled Sluggish Start.
Taking cues from its title, the EP delivers the sonic equivalent of a listless afternoon of lolling around on the couch, and sees the Naarm/Melbourne-based musician wrestle with concepts of insomnia.
“Sluggish Start focuses on my relationship with sleep,” the aptly-named Sluggo said in a press statement. “I have suffered from insomnia for my entire adult life… So why not write songs about my relationship with sleep?”
Coasting on the energy of a lullaby, Sluggish Start opens with Down, which feels like what you might get if you paired a cradle song with psychedelic rock.
There’s a soothing quality to Sluggo’s vocal range — which flits between airy highs and descending vibrato — to the point where you can almost picture him singing the track bedside with an acoustic guitar in tow.
If Down is the EP’s nightcap, then second track Goodbye My Friend is its morning call. Tinny and overdrawn guitar strums open the track, while subtle audio distortion gives it the feel of a radio alarm clock.
In keeping with the project’s tone of coaxing sleepiness, Goodbye My Friend uses sparse instrumentation and hushed lyrics, with the sporadic tinkle of what sounds like a vintage jewellery box.
It’s a testament to Sluggo’s cinematic approach to his subject that the tracklist remains engaging despite its simplicity, with Sleep Hygiene again opting for a grungier yet equally slumberous tune.
Sluggo adopts a speedier cadence and harsher sounds on final track We R Gna B Frenz, which veers into rock territory with sacrificing the album’s feel of an afternoon nap. Here, the singer delivers a summertime daydream as he reminisces on befriending an unnamed stranger.
Though Sluggo successfully ruminates on years of sleepless nights — he admits that insomnia “does become overwhelming” — the singer has nonetheless provided the antidote with Sluggish Start.
Like the temptation of a much-needed snooze, the EP rolls over you with intoxicating calmness, so you’re better off just giving in. Listen to Sluggo’s new EP Sluggish Start below.
