The Trunk 19/11/2017: The Lyrics and Legends of Tom Slatter

Even on a label that prides itself on releasing genre-defying music, Tom Slatter has always been especially hard to pin down. He's always been defined most stridently by his songs, and the stories he tells in them, and, given that his new instrumental project Murder and Parliament is now less than two weeks away (we are very excited), now's as good a time as any to take a look back at Slatter's previous work, all five albums of it. Instead of going through album by album, though, we're going to look into some of the more notable themes we've seen repeated over the years, and showcase a few of the best examples thereof.

Hoo boy. Are you ready for this? We're not.

Seven Bells John

Flashback to 2010, and Tom's first solo album, Spinning The Compass. (It's now available in a shiny, remastered digital form for just £5!) Track four, 'Lines Overheard At A Seance', is the first appearance (though not by name) of an unsavoury character who would plague Tom's music for a while to come: the nefarious Seven Bells John.

Who's this guy? He's "a criminal, a murderer", and the voices you hear in this song are his victims. You'll probably be familiar with at least some of the rest of the story if you've heard Fit The Fourth, whose twenty-minute closing track covers the finale of his tale, but perhaps you don't have the full picture yet.

To complete the story, you'll need both of the aforementioned tracks, as well as 'The Steam Engine Murders And The Trial Of Seven Bells John' (also on Fit the Fourth), Tom's EP Black Water, and a few caffeine-fuelled, sleepless nights, until your conscious mind starts unravelling at the seams and everything clicks into place. Or I guess you could just read this synopsis.

The story of Seven Bells John is complex and nonlinear, and didn't become clear as a single story until quite a way into it, so who's to say Tom hasn't woven more narratives into his work, unseen until the time is right? Perhaps even Murder and Parliament, bereft of lyrics, will continue the great work somehow? We shall have to wait and see.

Augmentation

"How many songs about replacing your body parts with mechanical alternatives is too many?" asks Tom in his Bandcamp bio. The correct answer to this question is beyond the scope of this article, but Mr Slatter seems committed to pushing the envelope.

There's a definite steampunk sensibility to many (if not most) of these songs, but it's rarely more evident than in this piece from his third album Three Rows Of Teeth, a track by the name of 'Self Made Man'. Spoilers, it's a more literal take on the phrase that you may be used to.

Self-improvement and self-perfection in general are strong themes throughout Slatter's work, and it's worth listening out for those callbacks and cross-references wherever you can find them.

Infohazards

It's no secret that much of Tom's music is laced with biting wit and a sharp satirical edge. Nowhere is this more evident than on the title track of Happy People, released earlier this year:

Tom describes Happy People as "loosely a concept album", and he's done an illuminating track-by-track writeup of the album and the meaning behind the lyrics - start here. But what Tom may not have told you is that every track on this album is also a potent weapon - played <REDACTED>, at double speed, and with the <REDACTED> part pitch-shifted one octave down, these songs can destroy brain tissue at a distance of up to 500 paces!

Thankfully, you're not allowed to know the exact processes involved, and I don't think Tom himself is entirely aware of what he's created. But I know. I know, and I've got your number, Slatter, and <REDACTED> <REDACTED> <REDACTED> on the <REDACTED> with a <REDACTED> so you'll have to <REDACTED BUT ALSO UNINTELLIGIBLE>

The remainder of this article has been removed for public safety reasons.

Status Update

Preorders are open now for Murder and Parliament and the release date for December 1st draws ever closer. Other than that, we've mostly been keeping calm, watching the skies, and preparing for next year. We do have a rather exciting (and rather bulky) feature starting right here on The Trunk next week, though, so do prepare yourselves for that.

Review Roundup

The Divine Abstract is fast becoming one of BEM's most critically acclaimed releases - congratulations to Charlie on producing something so many people seem to love! He got a shout-out in DPRP's Something For The Weekend feature, praising "a unique album that is a true delight to the ears", and there's a review from PROG Magazine's Alex Lynham, too, agreeing that listeners "will find their explorations rewarded".

Next week, the beginning of the end of the year! Yes, already! Kind of!