Totally Slow Premiere Their Methodical New Album ‘The Darkness Intercepts’

Usually, a few records in, a band has found its groove, which is what you hear on Totally Slow’s brand-new LP. The Darkness Intercepts is the band’s fourth record, which will be released on March 22nd via Refresh Records. They have worked hard to get to this point, and as you’ll hear on this record, they took full advantage of the knowledge and experience they have gathered over the last several years.

Featuring collaborations with Noelle Shuck from Shehehe and Sam Paulsen from Man or Astroman, the members of Totally Slow sought a more balanced approach in recording this album. They worked through it holistically and methodically, not rushing the process. The final track listing and the order in which the tracks appear were given lots of thought. This time, the band paid more attention to transitions and layering, trying to make the songs sound well-connected as one continuous piece of work.

Elaborating on the recording process, singer and guitarist Scott Hicks comments:

“While recording The Darkness Intercepts, we finally had the resources and breathing room to build a record block-by-block, taking care along the way to work on transitions and layers, as well as bringing in cool friends to hang out and sing and do guitar parts. It’s a fun and turbulent trip through existential fatigue and relationships while combatting our dangerous innate yearning for authoritarianism. It all weaves together into a kind of narrative historical fiction.

“This is a whole and contained record, not just eleven songs we happened to have lying around. I don’t think it really sounds like anything else and that’s what we wanted to make. There’s always that instinct towards building something familiar sounding, but I think we successfully said ‘fuck it’ and made something we actually wanted to listen to.”

What has always defined Totally Slow since their inception in 2013 in North Carolina has been their intensity. It’s still there with The Darkness Intercepts and may be more intense than ever. The lyrics are particularly biting, touching on the chaotic state of affairs in which we live. Emotionally, it’s trying to find some peace in accepting the stubborn nature of being and our place in the world. This has always been a main ingredient of the band, but it’s arguably never been sharper.

Within their essence, Totally Slow is a no-nonsense vintage punk rock band. The lyrics are angry, the guitars are razor-sharp, and the spirit is lively and steadfast. The country is on the brink of disaster, and Totally Slow is going to make sure they have something to say about it.

The Darkness Intercepts Track Listing:

1. Crosshairs
2. Sins At My Back
3. The Lost Art Of Shutting Up
4. Future Burns
5. Corrupted
6. Kookslam
7. Pressing Charges
8. Pistol Whipped
9. Western Glenwood
10. Motorshed
11. F Is For Genius

Totally Slow ‘The Darkness Intercepts’ album artwork