Just the title of Get Better was enough to catch my attention. We’re going through quite literally the toughest period I’ve experienced in my whole life. It’s not so much the isolation and distance, it’s also the complete and overwhelming uncertainty. COVID-19 has torn-up the rules, at least as most of us understood them, and I think all of us can’t wait for things to get better. I’ve never felt less certain of my decisions - be they how much to buy at the supermarket, or how to do the right thing for my family, my colleagues and my friends.
SupaSlo position themselves as alt-tronica - a sound they describe as “Daft Punk, M83 or Disclosure, but shoved through a buzzing guitar amp”, but Tame Impala feel like their closest peers. The duo formed in 2019 after guitarist Joe Gomez relocated to New York and met producer Emmet Folger. Joe has spent years playing in a psychedelic rock group, CJ Clydesdale Band, while Emmett had spent his time perfecting drum loops and experimental electronic music. The pair were friends for a year before actually sitting down and working to bring these influences together.
Get Better starts gently - the kind of 70s retro sound that somehow captures the feeling of both blue eyed soul and progressive rock. Backwards guitars, low-slung bass and earthy vocals come together to create something that thuds with a tactile sensibility.
But for what it is, it’s played straight - a guitar solo picking its way through a smokey room, drums that kick with a sense of solid foundation. From two-minutes, however, all bets are off... Suddenly we have vocals drifting out of phase and the traditional(ish) instrumentation evaporates - it’s like taking a breath and sinking into the water, or yielding to the embrace of someone you love. The things that felt solid and important no longer are, and the main vocal hook kicks in, a simple-yet-reassuring “I wanted you to know that things will get better”.
Sometimes I pick people up, and sometimes I need to be picked up. The experience of having someone tell me they are there for me and that it’s okay to not be okay? This record triggers the same parts of my brain as that, which basically makes it medicine as far as I’m concerned. Put this on your best sound system or headphones, crank it up and close your eyes...