LA Music Review | Art, stories and advice
Fun, catchy and totally groovy!
The Slants‘ final full-length album, the aptly titled The Band Plays On…
is a fourteen track collection of the band’s melodic, highly-danceable synth-pop, which will be released digitally and on vinyl October 20, 2023. Unlike prior The Slants’ albums, The Band Plays On will feature a guest performer on each track, including a guest vocalist on almost every song. These guests are comprised of prominent, as well as up-and-coming, artists from the Asian American community:
- “The Band Plays On” – Feat. BAO (and nearly all former members of The Slants)
- “What Will People Say” – Feat. Mikara
- “Advocate” – Feat. Edson Choi (Talk Time)
- “Drifting Pages” – Feat. Lola Menthol
- “This is Who We Are” – Feat. Joe Kye
- “Will You Let Me Know” – Feat. Surrija
- “Family” – Feat. Aron Moxley (and nearly all former members of The Slants)
- “Ideas of You” – Feat. Darro
- “One Last Summer” – Feat. Katherine Ho
- “Crystal Lake” – Feat. Othertones/Iman Nadeem
- “Strangest Sound” – Feat. Alex Kade
- “Life Goes On” – Feat. Johnny Hi-Fi
- “Just Say Goodbye” – Feat. The Complements
- “Credits Roll” – Feat. Joe Kye
Start streaming “The Band Plays On” here:
“The Band Plays On is a logical evolution for The Slants. There’s a mixture of old and new songs, many reflective of Simon’s and my own personal journeys into music and activism, but presented through collaborations with extremely talented Asian American singers, musicians and producers from across the country,” says Jiang on the new album. “When the band retired from touring in 2019, our focus was on our foundation and supporting/connecting marginalized artists. It made perfect sense to do the same with this album.”
“Even though we were exhausted from over thirteen years on the road, our timing of stepping down from touring as a band right before the pandemic was serendipitous; that down time allowed us to really focus on what mattered for the band. For me, it was focusing on telling our stories, both literally through publishing my memoir, as well creatively through our music,” recalls Tam on how the album came about. “For the first few years, we connected with hundreds of other Asian American artists through the work of our nonprofit, The Slants Foundation, and it really helped us rethink what was possible with our art.”
“In the Summer of 2022, we were invited to apply for the New Works Collective program at Opera Theatre of Saint Louis. Even though we had no experience with opera itself, we thought that it could be an interesting concept to share our Supreme Court story while bringing elements of synth-pop and rock n’ roll,” recalls Tam. “Evidently, the opera agreed and we began writing very quickly, incorporating actual quotes from Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the government, and me. Like our album, Joe and I mostly focused on behind-the-scenes work in writing and composing.
Staying behind the curtain allowed us to leverage our strength of sharing ideas while allowing others to take center stage. Bass players are usually not considered the frontman but it was different with The Slants – I was often thrust into that position to talk about our activism, our legal case, or because I was the de facto original band member left. But whether it is the opera or our album, I’m finally doing what I’ve always wanted to for our community: create new roles that allow others to do what they do best. That’s my favorite kind of art.”
Adds Jiang, “The opera is definitely taking our band evolution to an extreme and it’s been as intense, challenging and exhilarating of a music experience I’ve ever had. Like the album, it’s telling very personal stories through collaboration, and it’s elevated by some of the best performers in the world. Just hearing my melodies sung by opera singers has been overwhelmingly exciting, and soon we’ll be seeing a fully staged production!”
Connect with The Slants:
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