Slack Handful – Tear Them Apart (2022)
Slack Handful are taking us back to 1974 and the war in Cyprus with their single ‘Tear Them Apart’. Using the perspective of a journalist covering the invasion, the duo considers the privilege of not being directly affected by war. With the current state of the world, this is something that hits a little closer to home than it may have in the past.
The subject is also close to the hearts of Dan Summers (guitars, keyboards) and Tim Pitchford (vocals, piano) as Summers is based in Cyprus. After meeting online in 2021 when Summers was looking for a singer, they have been churning big melodies with catchy rock riffs. While there is something nostalgic to their sound, the burst of modernity has it bordering on timeless.
The roll of the guitar that opens ‘Tear Them Apart’ carries a wonderful depth to the sound. The melody sweeps around your ankles, like fog in the early morning, with a touch of building energy. The strum of the guitar enhances this building tone as you head into the chorus where a layer of lighter tones sparkle. It is a tight production that holds the masterful intertwining of melodic elements together. Each note adds its own story to the track, creating a tension that coils in your chest, while simultaneously allowing you a degree of separation. The emotions that have been woven into the music are felt bone-deep as they pulse into your soul through the drive of the drums. It is a rather intense ride that you never want to step off. Laced into the melody is a wonderful flurry of imagery that embeds itself in your brain and is brought to visual glory by the vocals.
Against the roll that opens the track, Pitchford’s vocals are an almost whisper that draws you into the perspective of the journalist. The lyrics have a descriptive edge that paints the picture of the war and all the tension this brings. The horrors of the invasion slowly build through the lyrics as the duo turns your attention to the destruction that hit. The separation that comes through in the melody is taken to another level by the vocals, as you consider that you are doing fine while others are in the grips of war. The harmonised vocals add a poignancy to the single as they seem to call out in condemnation. The vocal performance is as powerful as the melody, if not more so.
Slack Handful build tension, unleash the horrors of war, while considering the privilege of not being directly affected, through the moving and descriptive tones of ‘Tear Them Apart’. Each note has been masterfully created to build the tension of war, only to take a step back from it all. It is an extremely powerful single that leaves you with a lot on your mind.
Find out more about Slack Handful on their website, Instagram and Spotify.
