The latest EP from Slug Comparison feels very much like a record that was made at 2am, with the lights off, a half-finished drink always within reach and an uneasy acceptance of the fact that nothing is ever going to be alright…
The solo project of Canadian songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Doug Harrison (known from his role as the frontman of Fen….the Canadian one, not the British progressive black metal one) Slug Comparison occupies an interesting space between alternative rock, progressive rock, grunge and something far more intimate. Here, Harrison strips away much of the heavier material found on his previous releases and leaves far more room for the songs to breathe. The result is six tracks that feel sparse, melancholic and inexplicably human.
Cold In Cold Out opens with the hauntingly beautiful Tongue of the Hollow. Its acoustic guitar and subdued vocal delivery will inevitably bring Nirvana to mind, and Harrison openly acknowledges the influence of Something in the Way. Rather than attempting to disguise the fact, he embraces it as an homage, even using a cheap nylon-string guitar and (presumably midi) cellos to further explore the connection. It could easily have become an exercise in nostalgia and imitation, but instead, it develops into something with it’s own distinct feel and sound, with a strange and genuinely unsettling familiarity lurking beneath its surface.
To Whom Would You Answer comes from much darker territory, with an atmospheric guitar line and an increasingly tense vocal performance that’s almost palable in its dread…think Thom Yorke at his most mentally strained. Back to the World is sonically warmer, but its emotional centre is no less bleak, with its lyrics that describe trying to reignite a connection to somebody who has become lost in their own demons.
Then there’s Burden of Life, one of the EP’s strongest tracks. Its deceptively simple arrangement gradually becomes crushingly melancholic as the song progresses. It’s restrained without ever becoming bland, deeply morose without being self-indulgent.Throughout this entire record, Harrison proves that simple songs are often the best, there is a stripped back beauty to these compositions that really spoke to me as a listener.
The title track explores the record’s themes further, contemplating existence, exhaustion and mortality, while closer No Healer leaves things in characteristically desolate territory. There is very little here that could be described as cheerful, unless your idea of a fun day involves peering out of rain-covered windows and sobbing uncontrollably.
Yet, incredibly, Cold In Cold Out never feels overwhelmingly miserable. Harrison’s melodies are strong enough to provide light amongst the gloom, and his vocals have a wonderfully weathered quality that gives the material an emotional credibility that other singers may not have achieved. There’s a shared DNA here with 2025’s I, Ancestral by Swedish band Kazea…a record that appeared very high on my list of top albums last year…I can’t give higher praise than that!
Cold In Cold Out is quiet, contemplative, sad and absolutely stunning. Most importantly, it feels genuinely sincere. A beautifully miserable little record, and one that understands that sometimes the quietest songs hit hardest
Best Paired with – A bottle of gin, a vivid memory and a long walk on a rainy Sunday.
Reviewed by Bryn.
Slug Comparison – Cold In cold out is out now.
Leave a Reply