90s grunge is reborn in Slothrust, who opened for Highly Suspect at Marathon Music Works on Thursday night to a sold-out crowd. This indie trio not only looks the part of a band planted in the soil of Nirvana and raised on a healthy dose of Pearl Jam but sounds like it too. It is clear that they earned their grit rising up through clubs in Brooklyn, however, they have recently relocated to LA. The trio consists of bassist Kyle Bann, drummer Will Gorin and lead vocals/guitar, Leah Wellbaum. I have never seen a bassist rock out quite like Bann, and Gorin keeps them tight with punchy rock beats. Wellbaum leads the crowd through their set of cheeky lyrics sang quietly in between waves of cranked up rocking out. Sloth shares marked importance on mental health visibility with their headliner Highly Suspect as Wellbaum pointed out before launching into the second half their set saying “I wrote this song when I was depressed.” Making it clear that talking about mental health is not something that Slothrust will shy away from.
Wellbaum’s lyrics are tongue in cheek but also straight forward and earnest. She sang “I do what I want/ I wear what I want” after dedicating the song to her mother not a minute earlier. This is a band that clearly can make a lot of noise and has something to say. However Wellbaum doesn’t need to scream their songs, instead, she makes you lean in with soft vocals before the band blasts you in the face. This tactic works and will make you sit up and pay attention to Slothrust.
Photographs by Caroline Voisine