IONIK RECORDINGS

THE SLOW BREAK

Inside the Dark Mountain (Spring 2006)

"Listening to The Slow Break is kind of like entering some sort of alternate reality where Dolly Parton and Courtney Love had a lovechild who was raised by

Janis Joplin on a steady diet of Pavement, Neil Young, and Sonic Youth. Said child, now named Alison Lee-Whitney, grows up smoking a pack a day until eventually

joining the aforementioned Nashville-based band and becoming one half of the vocal force that leads them into the recording of 'Inside the Dark Mountain.' Cobining
elements of psychadelic rock, blues, rockabilly, and beat poetry, the record is a wholly raw and passionate dose of jangly guitars, scratchy vocals, distortion, and the

occasional saxophone screech. It's perfect for a musty old bar of hard-drinking regulars who reminisce about the glory days of Haight-Ashbury. Matt Fox, who for all

purposes sings with little more than a husky wail, balances out Lee-Whitney's abrasive twang on this slow-burning, 11-song set. Rounded out by drummer Katie O'Brien,

The Slow Break's songs don't always build into exhilarating statements, but when they get damn close ("Interstate," "Subburn") anyone who likes a little

unrefined psychadelic fervor in their rock need look no further than here." Corey Apar - Wonkavision Magazine

"With love from Ionik records comes The Slow Break's album called Inside The Dark Mountain. It's an interesting type of lo-fi rock that isn't easily categorized.

The Slow Break wins the award of this blog post. They're extremely talented in creating a messy mix of passionate alt-country, 70's pop, post-punk, heavy rock

and rockabilly sounding guitars. In between this chaos styles (that never sounds chaotic, at the most a bit wary), The Slow Break succeeds to keep a sense of

melody and heartfelt emotion. It's crazy what range of bands this reminded me of, going from Pavement to Hole. Not all songs on Inside The Dark Mountain are

of great quality though (the song Salenum is... well... not that good), but they're more than ok and I advise you to check 'em out. The best tracks are

surely the ones where the girl(s) take care of the lead vocals. The guy's voice is not really impressive." - Semtex Magazine

"Although one of the band's direct ancestors is the laconic icons Pavement, Louisville's the Slow Break, on its debut, Inside the Dark Mountain, also manages

to honor the shambolic, blues-and-beer-infused rock of Janis Joplin and more contemporary artists such as Marah and the Libertines. With a bit of

Dolly Parton's twang, Joplin's breathless urgency, and her own passion, singer Alison Lee-Whitney injects songs such as "Interstate Woman"

and "Cowboy Crucifixion" with a feminine fire that, like the guitar and drums, is just barely contained in the studio. This is essentially a pure rock record,

rough and unprocessed, jangly and passionate, but with a few sax and xylophone licks to keep it from blending in and getting lost." -Prefix Magazine

"Very bohemian and raw, The Slow Break creates an original laconic record that mixes folk poetic with garage ambiance that works on so many

different levels. I hear so many influences that you wouldn't dream of putting together, like John Cougar Mellencamp and Sonic Youth. But ultimately,

these mixtures help elevate the album to nothing short of amazing. Really, to fully appreciate this record you would have to analyze each track for its

individual style and content to see how wide a spectrum they traverse. This three-piece really bring a lot to the table as they all pull double duty

playing additional keyboards, sax and percussion, and with having alternating lead male and female vocals each track maintains a powerful identity

so that no two sound the same. "Sunburn" beautifully captures melodic rambling like Modest Mouse, while "Salenum" alternates between exquisite

non-linearity similar to Morphine and The Pixies. " - Hybrid Magazine (read entire review here).

"Like the results of a fingerpainting session gone wild, this messy mix of styles can't be described easily. Deceptively bright chaos throws

forth alt-country, punk and rockabilly guitars and frenetic saxophone under grim lyrics. The best tracks contain Katie O'Brien's yelping rasp;

she sounds like Kristin Hersh, Stiffed and Dolly Parton got thrown into a blender with a pack of cigarettes. All bands should put this much passion

and fire into their albums." - meredith at 75 or Less Reviews

"I was a big fan of their self-titled album. The Slow Break continues to impress on the follow-up entitled “Inside the Dark Mountain”. The album is
indie rock, punk, rockabilly, and psychedelic rock all rolled up into one tasty sushi roll of rock. The guitars are jangly and boast bright distortion. The
saxophone and organ give it a rootsy flavor that is smoked with a patented BBQ sauce of rock-n-roll. Different and just the way you like it."

- Smother Online Music Magazine

"Best Import Nice going Santa Cruz. You were so busy rubbing baby oil on your golden limbs that you didn't even

notice this sexy mess of a band in your California midst. Well, now the Slow Break makes Louisville home, and you still suck".

-Louisville, KY city magazine Velocity Weekly.

"The Slow Break debut album is "gloriously ragged and energetic, brimming with urgency and the sort of inspired chaos that typifies

the genre at its rambunctious, rollicking best!"- Splendid.com