Slow Club put the brakes on with a sleepy fourth LP

If true pop perfection is ultimately unattainable, Slow Club can at least console themselves with the knowledge that they came pretty damn close to it a couple of years ago. The Sheffield duo’s earlier work had been replete with promise and Complete Surrender pretty much universally delivered on it. There were big, brassy pop songs (“Suffering You, Suffering Me”, “The Pieces”), moments of high drama (that string section on the title track) and sparse ballads, too, that gave Rebecca Taylor free reign to turn in the vocal takes of her life. The lyrics were witty, the production slick. It was was a very far cry from the twee earnestness of the early days, but as early as their debut Yeah So, there was evidence in abundance that they were going to get here eventually. The surprise came in that they’d managed it so soon.

Perhaps a comedown was inevitable. In some respects, that's what One Day All of This Won’t Matter Any More feels like; a low-key hangover as a logical response to some of Complete Surrender’s excesses. The first video released off of that last record was a stylish black-and-white affair to accompany a track that sounded like an uptempo Bond theme. The band’s latest clip, for “In Waves”, was filmed by Taylor with a GoPro with the express intention of providing an unglamorous view of “a day in the life of a narcissistic musician”, which was duly achieved - so much so that at one point, we see them in the midst of a phone interview with this writer.

Watson brought up The Boatman’s Call, Nick Cave’s 1997 foray into piano-based intimacy, during the course of that conversation, as well as repeatedly stating that the intention this time around was to make a ‘sleepy’ record - the kind you might listen to as you got ready for bed. This is certainly the most subdued album they’ve ever made, and as a counterpoint to Complete Surrender, works nicely. It’s at its best when it sounds like there’s a quiet storm going on.

The ache of Watson’s vocal on woozy opener “Where the Light Gets Lost” is a case in point, as is the bluesy tumult of “Ancient Rolling Sea”. Where their last record’s more sedate moments simmered with insecurity, here they brim with tension - see “The Jinx”. On “Silver Morning”, the landscape keeps shifting - chirpiness collapsing back into lethargy. On an emotive level, it works. Taylor mentioned that the title of the album is something she sees as being imbued with, if not optimism, then at least a degree of comfort; a mantra, taken from the (spoiler alert) hidden track, that she reminds herself of through good times and bad. The record’s sound is languid, but that shouldn't be mistaken for being laid back. Lyrically, there’s plenty of turbulence on this record. It rarely sounds at ease with itself.

The record was cut in Richmond, Virginia with Matthew E. White handling production duties, and by and large he does a good job; the textures are warm and hazy, and the instrumental palette is kept relatively simple. The percussion sounds borderline hushed at times, and the little flourishes - the slide guitar on closer “Let the Blade Do the Work”, or the gospel backing on “Give Me Some Peace” - stand out all the more for it. The harmonisation between the pair, meanwhile, so often their calling card, falls in line with everything else about the album’s sound. It’s subtler and more nuanced to the point that it almost feels underused - but repeat listens will, in the end, bring the prettiness of the overlapping vocals out.

There’s no question that One Day All of This Won’t Matter Any More feels like less of a statement than its predecessor and, crucially, it lacks that record’s uncanny ability to make a stylistically diffuse set of songs feel totally cohesive. The poppier efforts here don’t quite puncture the atmosphere that the band have worked so hard to cultivate elsewhere, but they’re hardly necessary either - you could cut “Tattoo” and “Champion” altogether and do the album no harm whatsoever. Those diversions aren’t enough to do irreparable damage, though, and whilst this never seemed like the obvious next step for Slow Club, it’s one they’ve taken with verve and assurance.