Slift 'Ummon' Album Review

Heavy rock, kraut rock, prog rock, space rock or psych rock, one thing’s for sure, Slift ROCK. Their new album ‘Ummon’ is an album that rocks so hard you’re left exhausted but satisfied by the end. There are riffs aplenty and extended guitar workouts, all drenched in a sea of wah. It’s a dizzy ride.

​The trio from Toulouse composed Ummon during endless tours across Europe in 2019, and conceived it as the soundtrack of an imaginary film. Ummon is certainly heavier than their debut album ‘La Planete Inexplore’ although it continues the sci-fi/fantasy theme – with song titles that include ‘Citadel on a Satellite’, ‘Dark was space, cold were the stars’ ‘Thousand Helmets of Gold’ and ‘Altitude Lake’. The band describe Ummon as ‘a dreamlike odyssey that features the Titans, their exile to the outer reaches of space in search of their creators, and the return of Titan Hyperion to Earth’. So now you know.

Photo by RABO

The first part of the album is pretty relentless, growly vocals and dark riffs that twist and turn unpredictably, and are explored best on the longer jams like ‘It’s Coming’ and ‘Citadel on a Satellite’. ‘Altitude Lake’ slows things down, ‘Sonar’ takes it up again with an almost jazz feel to it before the tempo drops down again until the album’s storming 13-minute long closer ‘Lions, Tigers and Bears’, which rattles along at a canter until its eventual breakdown at the end.  

All in all, Ummon is quite a journey, songs that meander purposefully and inventively, traversing a range of styles over the course of 70 minutes or so. It demands to be played loud, and with your full attention focussed on it all time, such is the quality of the playing. Maybe some bright spark will make a film to it one day too…

Ummon is released on 28th February on Stolen Body Records.

Slift visit the UK in May for a few dates, albeit at the time of writing a few of the dates seem yet to be confirmed:      

09/05 LEEDS, Mabgate Bleach 11/05 MANCHESTER, (TBC) 12/05 • GLASGOW Broadcast 13/05 NEWCASTLE Cluny 2 14/05 CHELMSFORD, Hot Box 15/05 BRISTOL, The Lane 16/05 • BRIGHTON, The Great Escape 17/05 BRIGHTON, (TBC) 18/05 • PORTSMOUTH, (TBC) 19/05 LONDON, (TBC) 20/05 BOURNEMOUTH, (TBC)