Slutever’s sludgy new single “Smother” is as grungy and heavy as it is fundamentally a pop song. Nicole Snyder and Rachel Gagliardi infuse short and catchy songs with the “hit so hard” spirit of early 90s Seattle, never failing to deliver relentless bangers that put this band in the fore-front of L.A. rock and roll. The lyrics wrestle with feeling pent-up and teething while simultaneously wanting to be smothered and babied. Gagliardi shouts a high-pitched, “Carry me! I know I’m heavy” that echoes Snyder’s repeated demand to “smother me.” This pairing of contradictions seems to be the band’s go-to formula. “Smother” sounds like it belongs tucked on a shelf between a sheet of Lisa Frank stickers and a Nirvana single; sweet yet guttural, Slutever continues to carve out a particular pink-rock sound as cheeky and aggressive as a glitter bomb. Their forth-coming tape Almost Famous drops February 17.
