Review: For Fans of Beach House, Slice's EP 'III' is a Must-Listen
NEW TO LONG BEACH RECORD LABEL SELENITE RECORDS — is the band Slice, who is not a new band at all. Megan Magiera, Barbara Barrera, and Alex Hattick have been making music as Slice since as early as 2015. Like the city of Long Beach itself, its music scene can be a bit self-contained, and anyone can miss a band like Slice if they aren’t paying attention.
Bands can’t help but represent the cities they come from. Sometimes it’s intentional, sometimes not. When Slice wrote their newest EP, III, whatever they put out came out of them naturally. However, this EP sounds more intentional and direct than any of their other work. EP’s Slice and II are collections of easy-listening, cheeky indie rock songs. Magiera’s vocals lightheartedly croon lyrics like “Stick out your tongue / and say ‘ahh’” on “Horchata Teeth,” or will coo on their instrumental jams such as “Biyuu” or “FYBC.” The band is more jaded on III, but still maintain the California slack that makes their music so dreamy.
Partners Magiera and Barrera would jam in their bedrooms with looper pedals before meeting Hattick from their local scene. Each of them take inspiration from bands you can’t quite hear in Slice’s songs — they love post punk and art rock, from Suburban Lawns to Lithics to Starflyer 59. III is more Beach House and La Luz, and perhaps it’s the innate California-nature in them. Slice don’t intend to be any type of band, but being from Orange County and based in Long Beach brings out a certain energy. Their riffs reverberate and dance around, hitting a certain twang that’s crossed between surfer rock and desert psychedelia.
The band broaden their horizons on this new EP as well. Coming in at a brief 10 minutes, each song brings a new style to the table. Opener “Depleted” is a lazy-days dream pop track, mirroring its lyrical mass. “Don’t Overthink It” and “Painfully Aware” are sanguine and punctuated by fluttering keys and synths. Magiera experiments with bratty vocals on the jaded “Shopping,” a song influenced by the troubling treatment of unhoused groups, especially in Long Beach.
The city’s music scene has always been small — Long Beach has fewer breakout bands compared to Los Angeles and Orange County — but still beams with activity and life. Slice is an example, and their recent signing to Selenite Records is a testimony. Slice brings a new sense of maturity and muscle to their dreamy sound, not only showing their talent as musicians, but that they have something to say.
