Slowpolk might be the country-fried love child of Cat Power and Gram Parsons, but it's the ache in singer Bekah Laning's voice that compels you to linger on each note and sway in the foreground during live sets. Breathing and breezing through poignant lyrics backed by bare-bones melodies, Laning charts an emotionally devastating journey set to music meant to hit where it hurts. Or maybe just poke: Slowpolk's songs will undoubtedly tug on those heart strings, but the band has the musical chops to keep you coming back for more. While “October” laments a night wasted away on soggy emotions and unrequited lust, the haunting ditty is far from pitiful—it's damn near affirming. Likewise, on “My Shoes” (“I can't seem to make up my mind/It will all be fine/Well I'm so alone/Well I guess I'll back out/I'll just freak out and go home”), Slowpolk move from mere background music to something you're fully immersed in—a world of heartache and love's take and all the things that make you blush and cringe at the same time. It's the soundtrack to a life full of sorrow and longing and sweet and tender hurt—raw, passionate music guaranteed to get you all misty-eyed and reflecting on loves lost and long-forgotten.
Contact: myspace.com/slowpolkmusic.
SLOWPOLK PLAY WITH MARINA V. AND VANESSA JOURDEN AT PLUSH CAFE, 207 N. HARBOR BLVD., FULLERTON, (714) 738-5100. SUN., 7:30 P.M. $5. ALL AGES. BAR FOR THE 21+.
LOCAL BANDS AND MUSICIANS! WE NEED MORE COASTERS! SEND CDS TO LOCALS ONLY, OC WEEKLY, 1666 N. MAIN ST., STE. 500, SANTA ANA, CA 92701-7417.
