Album Reviews

If you are familiar with the Speedy Ortiz song “Puffer”, it should come as no surprise that vocalist Sadie Dupuis (aka Sad13) has now released an album full of pop songs where she trades in jagged guitar riffs for things that go bleep in the night. Her message is still the same though. “I wanted to make songs that were the opposite of ‘Genie In A Bottle’ or ‘The Boy Is Mine’,” she has said of the about the album, songs that “put affirmative consent at the heart of the matter”.

Sounds heavy for a pop album, right? Not really. Dupuis makes sure there’s plenty to enjoy on songs like opening track “<2”, the glitzy single that is “Get A Yes” and the groove-driven “Just A Friend” while addressing issues like the gender pay gap and a woman’s right to choose what she wants to do with her body.

On the other hand a song like “Line Up” isn’t all that memorable while others are built around a good idea, but could have been even better if they had been allowed to take shape a bit longer. But hey, for an album written, recorded and self-produced in just two weeks, “Slugger” is a solid attempt at fusing pop music with politics.

Track listing:

1. <2     
2. The Sting     
3. Fixina     
4. Get a Yes
5. Devil In U     
6. Line Up     
7. Just A Friend     
8. Tell U What
9. Krampus (In Love)
10. Hype     
11. Coming Into Powers