Chloe Slater – Love Me Please – Album Review

Manchester-based Chloe Slater makes a bit of noise with her new EP Love Me Please

Indie music is a well-trodden path, with the scene often churning out repetitive songs from bands that appear to be carbon copies of each other, an echo chamber of sorts. That said, sometimes you get a release that just feels a little more fresh, a bit more honest and all together more genuine. Could this be one of them? 

A relative newcomer to the scene, Slater is making sure she’s heard, with an EP that doesn’t hold back from calling out the issues in today’s society. The first track, Tiny Screens, points a finger at the growth of influencer culture. “Blue tick, new money” is the opening line sung by Slater, calling out the entitled rich kids taking up residence in every internet consumers’ For You page. With her voice atop distorted guitars that conjure memories of 2010’s alt rock, there’s no lack of energy. As the listeners, we don’t have to read between the lines to find out what Chloe thinks of these “new money” stars who want to be like “Marilyn Monroe with turkey teeth”. She makes her opinions clear that they haven’t earned their spot: “You can be a star without star quality”. 

In Sucker, Slater ponders the wealthy “suits” that she encounters day-to-day and tells herself: “I’ll try to reason with the people I should resent”. Chloe channels her inner Courtney Barnett throughout the verses with nonchalantly spoken words, her voice cooked in a pinch of saturation and seasoned with a sprig of attitude. In case anyone was still unsure of her opinion on the ‘fake’ people seen on our phone screens, she makes it crystal clear with one of my favourite lines on the EP: “If I make it, I won’t straighten my teeth”. A humble nod to staying genuine and being yourself, even amidst growing fame. Despite this, there isn’t any blame directed towards the people who inspired this song. Instead, Slater recognises their upbringing isn’t their fault, and in comparison to the rest of the world, we’re still extremely lucky. Imagine being privileged enough to take the time to ramble about people’s music!

Fig Tree describes the everyday issues surrounding appearance that women have to face as members of a patriarchal society. The verses mimic thought processes that the artist goes through in her battle to feel good enough. This is then responded to through the chorus, as Slater sings “Life’s not a fig tree, you’re not made of glass, better to have creases then to never have laughed”. Chloe paints a picture of the world that she exists in, opposed to the standards set on her by society, but self-admittedly still “assisting” by buying into it. By the conclusion of the song Chloe decides “I’ll choose a life that is mine”, a proclamation to be free in a world that seemingly wants the opposite.

I took a little detour from my review writing to have a peek at Chloe Slater’s Instagram, only to find the track We’re Not The Same was annoying the exact demographic that it references. Well done to those commenters for outing themselves as the dickheads that everyone already knew you were. Bravo. Anyway… I got a Blue Weekend era Wolf Alice feel from this one. Wailing over jangly guitars and colossal drums, Slater reminds the aforementioned commenters how forgettable they are.

The final track on the EP is Imposter, with a change of pace from the previous tracks. A sad ballad about the imperfections of being human and an honest confession in which Slater admits she feels like an Imposter. The song slowly builds, introducing synth sounds that create the image of thoughts building up, until they seem to get too much and the song reaches its climax, marking the end of an EP that left me wanting more. 

Going back to my earlier question: was this release an exception to the current trajectory of Indie music? It felt original. It was definitely more honest. You’ve got my opinion, go and have a listen and see what you think. I’m not the arbiter of all music. I however, know that Chloe Slater will be on my radar for the foreseeable and I’m excited to see what she does next.