Slush. Think messy, colourful, squishy, fun.
Acacia, Scout and Caitlyn comprise the Melbourne-based trio taking on topics such as periods, menstrual cups and femininity. “We call ourselves power pop,” Slush bassist Caitlyn explains.
“I know we are kind of punk, but we have a lot of fun and I feel like power pop describes the more fun sound we have.”
Slush recently shared their latest single 'Bleed'; the group will soon debut their self-titled EP. To celebrate, Slush will be launching the EP with a show in Melbourne later in the month.
Slush came to be after Caitlyn and Scout moved to Melbourne in 2017. “We were seeing all these bands in the scene like Wet Lips and Cable Ties and HEXDEBT and were like 'oh my god, they are so cool I wanna do that',” Caitlyn recalls.
“So we were like 'let's just start a band, we've got the instruments; let's buy a crappy drum kit, paint it pink and start a band’,” Caitlyn explains.
All three members hail from the same country town in New South Wales, Bellingen. Acacia and Scout used to be in a band together at school, and Scout and Caitlyn have been best mates since they made the move to Melbourne together at the age of 15.
“We packed everything we own into a car and drove the 16 hours to get here,” Caitlyn says.
Caitlyn goes on to say the sound Slush produces is a group effort, but it has taken time for them to develop it. “At first, Acacia was like 'I've got these ideas let's jam them out',” she says.
“Acacia's an amazing lyricist so she writes a lot of [the songs] but I guess as we have played together more we have found a way of writing together, like getting together and writing songs.
“I'll think of a riff or Acacia will have an idea for some chords. We are really good at collaborating now, a lot better than when we started... we've kind of found our groove.”
Slush have only made a couple of music videos, but with a bit of guidance they are developing a strong brand. “With the first [music video] Amanda from Hysterical Records gave us lots of tips, ideas and hooked us up with the right people, so she helped us a lot with the first one.
“She basically said: 'I think you guys should have a video of you playing as a good introduction to Slush.’
“Then with the second music video we wanted to go wild and have a lot of fun with it; it's all about blood and periods with lots of pinks and sparkles and crazy outfits,” Caitlyn says.
Having achieved their primary goal of securing gigs around Melbourne and playing with bands like Moaning Lisa (a major inspiration for the band), Caitlyn says she and her bandmates are looking forward to what comes next.
“We want to take it as far as we can; as long as we are still having fun with it,” she says.
“Anything that's fun and can take us travelling around; we will kind of wait to see what the cards will bring.”
