‘Anxiety’ by Sloan Brothers | New Album, ‘System Update’
Exclusive track premiere of ‘Anxiety’ by Sloan Brothers, taken from the upcoming album ‘System Update’, out May 13th via Science Project Records.
“At age 20, I was a passenger in a car that rolled over around sunrise when the driver fell asleep at the wheel. I made it out with only a broken collarbone, but the incident touched off what turned out to be a lifelong battle with anxiety and depression. This song is about how I always imagine my car leaving the road while I’m driving, how that anxiety extends to the rest of my life, and how medicines can only do so much for it. I liked the idea of setting that bummer concept to a dance beat. I had been recording Kevin Sweeney and his band Hayride in concert for years, as well as hanging out and bothering Kevin, so he was an obvious choice for lead guitar. I couldn’t pull off the rhythm guitar part myself, but I knew that Jason NeSmith of Casper & The Cookies would be able to, and he did. Derek Almstead plays multiple instruments, but his bass playing in Faster Circuits was especially fine, so I wanted some of that here. Carlton Owens of Cracker plays on the entire album, but this one in particular is elevated by his presence.” – Sloan Simpson of Sloan Brothers
The Athens, Georgia-based musician played rock and jazz guitar growing up, but was frustrated by the hit his talents took when a serious car accident sidelined him. Simpson sold all of his guitars and quit the instrument. With music still in his blood, if not in his grasp, Simpson began to document, through live taping, the local scene in his new hometown of Atlanta, eventually relocating to nearby Athens after years spent driving between the two as part of his recording endeavors.
His new hobby had become a good habit. “I had a permanent recording setup installed and the reality of losing my favorite venue really set in when I had to go remove it,” Simpson says of The Caledonia Lounge, a nationally-recognized Athens club that closed in October of 2020, sidelining him again.
He also started calling up more friends. Simpson explains, “I asked my friend Robert Schneider (co-founder of The Apples In Stereo and Elephant Six Recording Co.) if he would record backing vocals on the song ‘Into My Mind’, and he agreed. As I kept writing more songs, I would ask more friends I knew from recording shows over the years to contribute guest parts.” In addition to Sweeney and Schneider, some three-dozen or more local luminaries also appear on System Update, including current and former members of Maserati, Olivia Tremor Control, Japancakes, of Montreal, Drive-By Truckers, Cracker, Casper & The Cookies, Camper Van Beethoven, Elf Power, and more.
After half a lifetime taking home tapes of the personal struggles of others in song, it’s about time that Simpson is giving us the same opportunity with his unexpected, thrilling work.
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