Their first album, Are You Satisfied? ensured that the theme of silliness was consistent throughout, with no brief lapses into serious. Admittedly, there was an overarching sense of disappointment and frustration with modern millennials, (see songs like 'Despair and Traffic' and 'Do Something'), but it was a form of dissatisfaction which acutely aware of its audience, and of who it was addressing. The most serious song from their debut album was 'Sugar Coated Bitter Truth', a tune which delves into government conspiracy, but loses all remnants of seriousness when Issac shouts "Do not trust the flies, they are government spies!".
That's the problem with Take Control. In the mere time-frame of a year and a half, the duo have become full of toxicity and purpose. They're getting too serious, far too quickly, and it's a worry which has been visible since their first new tune after their debut album, in the now confusingly named track, 'Control'; you know, that tune which Slaves think is incredibly significant and politically charged, when really it's just a generic stringing together of rebellious lyrics. Unfortunately, it seems that this new found seriousness has carried over to their new album.
When I had a look at Are You Satisfied?, it was a cheerful album full of hope and optimism in a world depicted as dull, dreary and downright dreadful. As a result, you got focused songs which didn't really tie together as part of a coherent album theme, but appeared refined despite their raw and visceral sound. You had tunes like 'Feed the Mantaray' and 'Hey', which regardless of whatever inspired the lyrics, are now seen as songs in which Issac is screaming about either aquatic wildlife or some particular vicious children in the respective tunes. While that might seem to be quite odd, there's absolutely nothing wrong with that: In fact, they're great songs, going on about some complete nonsensical situations.
Anyway, let's have a look at Take Control from a purely objective standpoint, shall we? Or at least as objective as a notoriously subjective individual can get...
First and foremost, if you toss out all of the qualms with the excessively weighty messages of the album, the clashing messages and contradictory tone, and those skit sections, the individual songs seem a fair bit tighter than their previous efforts, and rather well-written. 'Spit It Out', for all its uninspiring lyrics, it a song with a solid structure at the very least.
'Hypnotised' also sounds a bass-filled ballad with a lot of inspiration from the duo's American counterparts, eerie resembling the likes of Death From Above 1979. Things get a bit sillier when it comes to tunes like 'People That You Meet', as the video shows Laurie shaving a man's head as Issac recalls an intriguing experience in a sex shop; it's the careless lyrics and simple, listlessly heavy tune which best fits the duo, resulting in a song which sounds like something off of their first album in the process.
This carries on with a lack of certainty with 'Consume Or Be Consumed' - at first, I was a tad worried that the lads were going to try and make some eloquent comment on the flaws of the capitalist system, but this is put to rest with the weighty, swaying bass, and a snippet of someone cutting their legs off with a chainsaw. In this instance, the tune is no more politically impacting than 'Sugar Coated Bitter Truth'.
I think that's a recurring theme with Take Control. Altogether, it doesn't add up to their debut album, but that certainly doesn't mean you should dismiss it entirely; it's a valiant effort indeed. We were all a bit worried that the lovely lads were going to get a bit too serious with this album, but I think everyone simply forgot who Slaves were, believing that they'd be off on their second album trying to reshape their identity and image. Nah mate, that wasn't the case after all.
Of course, as their bibliography expands, the duo are going to sound a bit more bland, (that being said, the last few songs on the album do experiment quite a bit). Similarly, their songs may refrain from spouting nonsense and attempt to get the odd message across, but ultimately, no individual lyric or section of a song will result in any dire consequences. Then again, the pairing do still amuse with their short skit segments, and certain aforementioned lyrics, (how can a song about a sex shop not warrant the odd giggle?). They're still finding their happy medium when it comes to recorded material, and Slaves are well on their way to achieving this ideal. Obviously, they're doing grand when it comes to their energetic live performances.
To put it as wonderfully simple as I can; it's alright. Tell a lie, it's decent, getting on good - I can't help but feel that my previously mentioned worries about Slaves getting too serious with their Chase and Status tune was just a phase. Admittedly, it's not the same enticing LP which we welcomed a while ago, but it's nothing to strike down in a fit of politically-charged fury. I don't know what everyone expected from an album from a care-free punk duo, but give it a while, it'll grow on you.
