The Music and Planet Project

Slaney Bay’s “A Life Worth Living” EP is music worth listening to. This feels like the kind of EP many young indie bands strive to create but none pull off quite as well as this London-based trio of childhood friends. Slaney Bay have all of the ingredients in place to be rising stars of the indie rock world – smartly crafted song structures, infectious guitar riffs, vocals that are easy to connect with, and reverb-laden production (and they are in fact rising, having performed several festivals and opened for notable Brit rock acts like The Cribs over the past year). If that sounds like how you’d describe your favorite indie rock band – say, Foals, Wolf Alice, or The Strokes – you’re exactly right. Slaney Bay would fit right in a playlist with those big names of the genre.

To say more of the songs themselves, each contains its own kind of catharthis driven by instantly catchy lead guitar riffs and the introspective yet energetic vocals of singer Cait Whitley. The production is smooth but contains hints of grit in just the way that your favorite indie rock band likely mixes its music. The band’s mid-tempo jams have you sometimes swaying, other times head-banging, and still other times crying out a vocal line (again, in a similar way to how you might sing along with your favorite alt-rock band’s hits).

Perhaps the best part of listening to Slaney Bay is the fact that they evoke the indie rock dream of the earlier 2000s. They write smart songs that lean on strong hooks and riffs rather than bells and whistles, they gig locally and frequently, and they’re starting to see their talents and efforts pay off. Slaney Bay is a reminder that good songwriting and hard work can still turn into something in this ever-changing industry. Listen here