They’ve got an eccentric sound that resists classification, and their lyrics are true poetry. Now, they’re ready with an album that’s going to make waves.
Meet Robert J. Mahon, a humble character brimming with intrigue and the charismatic lead vocalist of Melbourne’s not-so-underground gem, The Slingers.
With Mahon steering the ship, the ensemble is completed by Darcy Lechte on drums, Greg Koumouris holding down the bass, Ben Hooper wielding the guitar, and Odessa Kemp on the keyboard (recently replacing Christian Hendy).
Keep up with the latest music news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
Their journey commenced in 2017, rooted in the camaraderie of childhood friendships and a collective passion for music.
“The band probably started in earnest in 2017, but a cool group of us have been best friends since kindergarten. We were never that gifted at music and we were probably quite late to the whole thing, but we all just loved music. After high school graduation, we all obsessively listened to bands together and started thinking that maybe we could do this,” Mahon recalled.
“So, we have been making music for a while, but that year was when we had our first release and gigs and everything.”
As the band began to put out their DIY singles, the scene quickly noticed that their genre-bending sound defies labels. Think alt-rock, alt-country, Americana, Australiana – and then add something entirely different. Or, you can use the genre devised by the band itself – ‘motel pop’.
“It’s something we just sort of came up with to describe what we were doing. It’s more to do with substance over sound. It’s got that lounge lizardy kind of singing. That 80s period of Leonard Cohen type-feel. That sort of thing,” Mahon explained.
While the band’s journey began rather unassumingly, they rapidly gained recognition for their independent releases and idiosyncratic sound. A pivotal moment arrived in 2020 when their collaboration with Spike Fuck on the track Kind Hearts caught the attention of Flightless Records, an independent Australian label founded by former King Gizzard member Eric Moore.
On July 7 this year, the band finally gave us their debut album, Sentimentalism. Produced by the talented Errol Green, the album has quickly resonated with listeners, prompting a swift ascent in the ARIA Charts. By late July, Sentimentalism peaked at number four for Top Australian Albums and number five for Top Vinyl Albums.
Behind the scenes, Sentimentalism was a labour of love, taking shape over a span of three years.
“Sentimentalism was in the works for really fucking forever,” explained Mahon. “We started writing in 2021, in the next year we were recording in the studio and it took us ages to produce and tweak.
“We had a few songs already kicking around, but once it started to take shape, we wanted it to have a theme to it – a thread. We had heaps of unreleased music so there was an instinct to put everything into it and make an anthology of like 20 songs. But I am really glad we didn’t do that.”
That choice paid off with listeners, as the album’s thematic coherence gives it its backbone.
“We really wanted the album to be about love. We do really love and care about our music. We also wanted it to be about this Age. About now, rather than taking refuge in some false nostalgia,” said Mahon.
The opening track of Sentimentalism, Living in the Age of Loneliness, washes over you like warm water. With those first lines; “In this age of great estrangement,/ Deconstruction and rearrangement/ In the age beyond the age of reason/ The final stage before the change of season” the poetry alone could be self-standing.
“I do think we are in an age of loneliness – I love that phrase,” Mahon says. “I don’t know who coined it, but I heard it for the first time in a documentary about MMA – not that that has much to do with anything. But it’s more broadly about what a lonely, alienating time this is. No one seems to be able to define or label it. It doesn’t even seem to have an essence.
As for what’s next for The Slingers, a sophomore album is (hopefully) just around the corner.
“We have got another album in the works. We have the bones of it; we just need to knock it into shape and fill it out. That’s really the next big thing for us. And hopefully a lot more touring and regional shows.”
The Slingers are playing Northcote Social Club on September 14 and The Espy on September 15. Sentimentalism is out now.
