Odd City's latest release, "Slink," was produced by a super producer/engineer Chuck Alkazian (Pop Evil, Soundgarden, Tantric) at the legendary Pearl Studio in Canton, MI.
Odd City consists of Mike Szumlinski (vocals, lead guitar), Mike Kap (bass, vocals), Pavel Guysinsky (rhythm guitar), and Brett Redwood (drums). The rock band is a very musically diverse band on many levels, which can be heard throughout their new album. Szumlinski says, "We have a lot of variety in the music we link and what we write, now we'd like to let people hear the book-ends in the range style of approach."
"Slink" might be considered to be a more mellow track on the album, yet it still holds the same emotion and energy as the rest of their songs. Redwood says, "The definition of "Slink" is moving quietly away, smoothly, which plays into the lyrics about getting away from someone that seems fun but had bad intentions or dire means. There is a specific night out that this song references."
The record opens with ambient yet driving guitar strings to set the mood for the track, leaving a beautiful space for vocalist Mike to enter into the record. The epic sounds from the band have us jamming and vibing out hard; from the effortless production to the ethereal vocals, "Slink" is highly note-worthy, making for such an incredible listening experience.
Lines like, "Hey, cruel mistress, keep your distance, you wave your hand and hide your knife," help depict the story visually and help the listener feel the lyrics by being poetic with their storytelling. In addition, the guitar solo shows appreciation for the art of music and respect for sound in general. With a single like "Slink," there's no doubt their project is just as breathtaking.
Make sure to support Odd City and stream their new exciting and alternative smash titled "Slink," available on all streaming platforms.
Welcome to BuzzMusic Odd City. We truly appreciate such a relatable anthem like "Slink." What inspired you to write this song?
Brett: I was out with an old friend of mine, and we met a nefarious person who duped us, which ended up starting the beginning of a rough night out. I laugh about it now, and there are some inside jokes in the lyrics, but basically, a beautiful lady duped us.
What was the most rewarding part about creating "Slink?" What did you appreciate most from the experience?
Mike: This song really came together in bits and pieces. It started as a simple rhythmic ideal, not much more than a single guitar and drums doing something a bit more “airy.” We jammed around with it a bit, and all liked playing the song, but there wasn’t a driving force to it until two things happened for me. First were the lyrics. They tell a real story about unmet expectations and misrepresentation in the land of relationships. The second (at least for me) was the melody line on the guitar. When we finally had those two pieces in place, the song sort of came alive. While all of our songs are co-written, this really feels like the song on Fission is a true “group effort.” Every part on its own was fun but not wholly interesting. But all the ingredients in the bowl ended up with a very heartfelt song that you can draw your own meaning. The result was better than the parts.
Pavel: Well, it started out as a riff with a drum beat. Once Mike added his melody and Brett's lyrics finally connected all of the elements together to create a song that we love. The lyrics tell a story, and we brought all parts together in sync, and just like Mike said, all the parts become a greater whole. Our band can be in your face with some of our melodies, and this one just slows our universe down to bring over the wide range of sound we can achieve.
Brett: I enjoyed slamming out the lyrics sort of last minute. I mean, I had more than half done before we were in the studio, but kap and I had a great writing session before we got to vocals, and it all worked out well.
What does "Slink" mean to you? What do you want people to take away from this message?
Brett: Wave the hand and hide the knife is a line in the chorus that stands out for me. I would say always be in control of the situations around you as best as you can to avoid getting in a bad situation.
Pavel: Brett can answer this one since he wrote the lyrics. But to me, I love the flow of the song of how everything comes together.
How does "Slink" contrast your previous releases?
Mike: I think if you listen to the rest of the record, you’ll see that this is definitely the lightest/quietest song we did. It is a song that shows our range in what we enjoy doing musically. While the rest of the album hits pretty hard, this one is more soothing.
Pavel: Take a thumb tack and intentionally step on it for the hell of it. That is how this song is completely different as far as feeling from everything else on this album.
Brett: I think we jammed on a lot of heavy stuff that felt like it was going nowhere, and when we got to the beginnings of slink musically, it stood out more from what we usually jam on.
What's next for Odd City?
Mike: I really don’t see anywhere else to go but face tattoos and trap beats.
Pavel: Yeah, we are all getting face tattoos and going hard at SoundCloud! Maybe throw in a rap? Ha ha ha. But we are busy writing our next record! Also, thank you again for this awesome opportunity to answer your awesome questions!
Mike: I can spitfire if the opportunity presents itself.
Brett: We are working on a music video. We will see where we get on. That should be fun.