ALBUM REVIEW: Slift – Fantasia

Sub Pop

Released: 05.06.26

Psychedelic heavy rock of the finest order from French trio Slift, consisting brothers Jean & Rémi Fossat on guitar and bass respectively and Canek Flores banging it out on percussion. This is their fourth album and there’s no let up in ferocity, originality and fervour for their art evidenced in Fantasia, itself a blistering opening opus at nearly nine minutes portraying a dystopian despair brought into stark reality; a pulsing commentary on our presence in the here and now as Jean screams despairingly hopeful to believe we can prevail over this monstrosity, his voice has a fragile power to it that perfectly narrates what is the album’s story of hope in the throes of intense oppression.

It has twists and turns that would make any prog-head squeal with delight, where this differs from other more indulgent twiddling is its welcome brevity of ideas, avenues and refrains rendering it all the more fresh and full of purpose, a mirror to its surreal epic songs of power, wresting from those with factional bad intent an optimism in our collective future, an expectancy that times pass and through suffering and strange heroic endeavours, we’ll get there.

If you’re new to Slift where have you been? Here they declare join us, our journey to overcome the struggle has begun and this is the soundtrack we deserve to remind us who we are in this plane and beyond.