Slash Fiction – We’ll Hold This Line Until Hell Freezes Over | Album Review

After releasing one of the most criminally undersung emo records of 2021, Slash Fiction ensure their voices are heard loud and clear with their sublime second record.

We’ll Hold This Line Until Hell Freezes Over see’s Slash Fiction wearing their collective hearts on their sleeves. Which isn’t particularly surprising, especially given how their aforementioned 2021 debut Gender, Trauma & Friendship was more-or-less a wonderful and most bright exploration of the nouns that form the record’s title. But what is surprising is how well this record outshines it’s predecessor in essentially every capacity. Instead of lazily applying a thin, synthetic layer of polish and veneer to their existing sound and calling it a day, (like a few artists do when approaching their second record) Slash Fiction have consciously and clearly taken the time to improve upon their musical dynamism and their charismatic approach. And the end result is something utterly fantastic, joyous and cathartic indeed.

Bound by the thematic lyrical theme of the importance of solidarity in a time where division is not only rampant but culturally enforced by political powers, We’ll Hold This Line Until Hell Freezes Over is both a title and a mantra. It’s one repeated across the record amidst further ruminations on gender and mental turmoil, and one that addresses how such focusses on self apply to the nature of community. The way in which respective opener ‘We’ll Hold This Line’ leads into the chipper bounce of ‘Ashes’, makes this all evident from the offset. Masterfully engineered to get rooms bouncing along as one and energised with a tangible sense of energy that can only come from a band with a tangible sense of purpose, these tracks instantly showcase Slash Fiction’s now established penchant for creating delightfully raw emo that’s personal as well as communal. Truly, there’s something utterly remarkable in how Slash Fiction can make music that’s both deeply personal but designed to unite people collectively, something further established by the ever relatable self-deprecation of the high impact ‘Root and Fifth’, a track that harkens thoughts of Los Campesinos! in thanks to it’s synth-speckled musings and dry wit.

However, one of the most appealing and utterly wonderful elements of this record is how it compounds and furthers the artistic dynamism that lies at the crux of this band. Whilst Gender, Trauma & Friendship was host to songs enjoying isolated moments of post-rock leaning indie, this record takes all of these conventions and compresses them into a conceive and palatable sound. Those swelling big brass moments and periods of quiet atmospheric spaciousness from their previous record are present, but aired in a way that’s more streamlined, more dynamic and ultimately more charismatic. ‘Le Chéile’, the gilded breezy swing of ‘Golden Hour’ and the tender intimacy of ‘Bear’ – a track that carefully addresses the anxiety of seeing someone you cherish navigating this increasingly hostile world – all play host this sentiment, but it’s the massive sing-along of ‘M18, M1, Parkway’ that truly makes a sentiment indisputable. In fact, in fashion in which Slash Fiction amalgamate multiple textures, immeasurable feelings and collective harmony is on par with the likes of The World Is A Beautiful Place and I’m No Longer Afraid To Die when it comes to aptitude, but their DIY roots and raw production is never comprised during the span of this record.

Ultimately though, what makes this record just so damn vital is how one can just feel the love that binds it. Much like Slash Fiction as an entinity, We’ll Hold This Line Until Hell Freezes Over is a body of work held together by love the band share and the need for solidarity. Even the anxious breathless likes of the queer anthem of ‘Coming Out’ and the bellowed ‘Catastrophising’ – tracks that are host to high octane energy and sidewinding riffery comparable to Johnny Foreigner and Nervus – emit this careful and delicate adoration in absolute spades. One would legitimately need to have a heart of pure stone not to be moved by this record and the massive encapsulation of this album as a message and experience that is closer ‘Until Hell Freezes Over’. In a time where conflict, division and hatred has become ingrained in our cultural DNA, records like this, bands like Slash Fiction and messages like they share here have never more vital than ever before. Simply, if you haven’t joined a union, join one. If you aren’t in a band, start one. If you haven’t listened to Slash Fiction, then now is the time to do so.