Soul Asylum release their new album, Slowly But Shirley, via Blue Elan Records. Their thirteenth studio album, its title and cover pay homage to Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney, a pioneering drag racer who inspired lead vocalist Dave Pirner during his youth. Recorded live at the Terrarium in Minneapolis, the release sees the band teaming up once again with producer Steve Jordan (Rolling Stones, John Mayer), who also worked on their classic 1990 album And the Horse They Rode In On...

For a band that has been around since 1981 it's refreshing to hear that Soul Asylum are as fresh and original as they've always been. Slowly But Shirley isn't a quickly cobbled together album to capitalise on their fan base. It's quite clear that the band truly enjoy writing new music, still have a lot to say and their songs cover more bases than you might be expecting.

We kick off with a good old traditional rock anthem. 'The Only Thing I'm Missing' comes at you hard and fast. 'High Road' has a Talking Heads vibe, that is infectious. 'You Don't Know Me' is a much slower number, and it has a very similar sound to Carly Simon's 'Coming Around Again', but with more of a rock structure.

Of the album's 12 songs (39 min, 30 sec), my personal favourite track was 'If You Want it Back', which feels like a '90s indie rock track. It has a hypnotic chorus that you can't help wanting to listen to time and time again.

I was really impressed with how much Soul Asylum has grown over the years. It's quite obvious they still enjoy performing. And this has all the energy and enthusiasm of a first or second album. Slowly But Shirley is certainly one that rock fans should check out.

9

Nick Smithson