The second single for Sloan Peterson this year, Rats, is a guitar driven indie rock song that hooks you in and forces you to bop along. Performing under the name Sloan Peterson, Joe Jackson, previously of Sydney band Black Zeros, has been fusing together a plethora of influences from the 60’s, 80’s and the modern music scene. Her single earlier this year, 105, was a poppy guitar song that showed off some Bowie influences; however, Rats has a much heavier sound that still gives nods to psychedelic guitar pop but with a garage rock twist that fills the track out.
An effects heavy guitar leads the song into a short thick intro, with straightforward drums, a thumping bass, and the perfect distorted guitar tone for fun rough indie rock. Acoustic guitar brings the energy down in the verse so that you can catch Peterson’s clever lyrics, “No future, no mind, you’re not one of a kind.”
The chorus is catchy and will have you singing along on the first listen, and a simple lead guitar riff hidden in the mix adds a melodic layer to the band. ‘Ooh’s lead the song into a high energy outro with a punky beat and a cheeky guitar solo before a classic 80’s synth closes the song.
Throw into the mix a simple, indie music video of Peterson rocking out in black and white and you’ve got smash hit material. For fans of Bowie, Alex Lahey, pop music with guitars, and a good boogie, Sloan Peterson’s Rats is a song to get behind. Combined with her earlier work it is sure to get Peterson some love on the Australian music scene, and fans can look forward to seeing more of this high quality artist.
– Josh Mills