Blessing your ears and your algorithm, Chloe Slaters debut EP You Can't Put A Price On Fun is so much more than just its catchy opening hooks. It is post-brexit political, chronically online and fun as fuck.
Current from start to finish, You Can’t Put A Price On Fun embodies how it feels to be young and living in Britain right now. Taking influence sonically from Wolf Alice, this EP is heavy and high energy, crammed with intelligent and informed lyrics, fit for an uprising of the restless youth.
Setting the tone for the EP, '24 Hours' is snarky and addictive. This song is deliciously of its era, grappling with social media voyeurism in all its complexities. Chloe articulates familiar frustrations of the privileged playing dress up as the working class, while we watch their highlight reels and hate how much we want to be them. We can’t help but see ourselves in her self-expose of hatewatching and doom scrolling, habits we like to think we're good for but aren’t. It’s the kind of song that feels good to walk down the street to, giving you just enough angst to go about your day.
Chloe’s songwriting (ironically) shines through on ‘Nothing Shines On This Island’, littered with trademarks of posh boy culture, this song strings up archetypal figureheads of class inequality and failed systems. Utilising a heavier, fast paced sound, this song has a sense of urgency, it is cutting and concise, making its point without apology. It has been on heavy rotation since I first heard it and is one of my favourites on the EP. I went to uni in Surrey, I know the man she’s describing, I can’t stand him. It’s all very cathartic.
Right from its opening, the title track ‘Price on Fun’ sounds like it belongs in an indie coming of age movie. It is upbeat and sunny, giving the EP a new energy. In the emotional hangover of the past two songs ‘Price On Fun’ is a swig of Berocca. An embodiment of its subject matter, it explores the need to let go and feel alive despite knowing that everything is shit. It is the dichotomy between social awareness and escapism, and it makes you wanna get up and go out for pres.
I wish I was still in uni so I could really feel ‘Death Trap’, but sadly my days of mould in the walls and wasps in the attic are behind me. That being said, this song is a lot of fun, it makes its point without taking itself too seriously, and the result is fresh and exciting. There is something Wet Leg-esque about its pacing, it is steady in its build and dynamic in its payoff. It’s songs like this that place an artist on the same level as their demographic and allows them to be related to, something which isn’t always easy to pull off authentically.
In a sobering change of pace, ‘Thomas Street’ closes the EP with stripped down acoustics and an even deeper sincerity. The entire song offers sentiments straight from the pages of a journal, but the bridge has an especially honest and autobiographical feeling, making it hit even harder. 'Thomas Street' is the heart of You Can't Put A Price On Fun, the EP's mantra in its rawest form. Without the intensity of the songs before it, 'Thomas Street' solely focuses on emotion, a precise and powerful conclusion to an outstanding debut EP.
If you're passively following Chloe Slater after liking a couple TikTok's about 'ripening or rotting', but haven't streamed her music yet you're missing out. Consider this your homework.
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