THERE’S not an air of pretension or any contrived caveats that come attached to Slaves’ output, as it’s good old fashioned punk rock that is likely to gain your adoration for its organic feel and unrepentant ferocity. Interestingly titled Are You Satisfied? The record sees the the duo posing a query not only to their fanbase but to the citizens of Britain as a whole.

Bursting into life with a double header of singles in the form of the scathing discontentment of ‘The Hunter’ and the mockingly satirical ‘Cheer Up London’, these two tracks act as a mission statement that are as good a demonstration of what they intend to do as any. They contain both the unbridled energy of their key genre’s formative stages in 1977 paired with flashes of post punk artists ranging from Public Image Limited to Killing Joke and Bauhaus.

The menacing cackle at the beginning of the latter gives way to immediately gripping chords and a fanatical chorus of “you’re dead already’; whilst its verses see vocalist/drummer Isaac Holan wholeheartedly rejecting the rat race and financially driven life style that is the lifeblood of the UK’s capital.

‘Sockets’ harbours the kind of raw power and undeterred aggression that can be seen in the material of grunge pioneers Green River, fuelled by a joyfully frenetic riff that is sure to deliver joy to the legions of music fans that believe modern rock music to have lost its snarl; becoming more homogenised over time. This absolute gem portrays Slaves as a bad who are intent to put the danger back into rock ‘n’ roll.

‘Despair and Traffic’ is built on swaggering guitar and explosive drumming; its dismayed chorus of ‘this is life’ combined with the title painting an all too familiar description of the mundanity that many face week in, week out.

The record’s more soothing, acoustic-led title track allows a momentary dip in momentum to appeal directly to their listeners; enquiring as to whether they’ve gotten the utmost out of what the world has to offer as opposed to merely existing.

This ties perfectly with one of the most important things which must be taken away from this record. Through the medium of biting punk rock, they manage to maintain not only an affinity with their audience but cultivate a deep understanding of the lives of the modern day working class’ particularly those who are capable of abandoning any notion of national pride and can see the UK for the backwards and deeply flawed society that it is.

The Stooges nodding guitar and vibrant vocals of ‘Wow!!!7am’ displays them continuing to refute the ideal of merely giving in to the drudgery of a mind-numbing vocation, as Isaac enlists the cautionary tale of “your poor old father, working hard to keep working hard to keep working hard.”

The seering ‘Hey’ distills the spirit of the DC hardcore scene of the 80’s despite ever so slightly more accessible musicianship, whereas ‘Ninety Nine’ adopts the disarray and attitude of The Ruts and pairs it with a hint of agitated electronica.

‘She Wants Me Now’ could have been dreamt up as a warped take on the all-consuming love that was purveyed throughout the music of the 50’s and the 60’s before ‘Feed The Mantaray’ and its playful guitar licks and lyricism are inarguably fun.

There are a variety of reasons that make it abundantly clear to see why Slaves landed on ‘Sugar Coated Bitter Truth’ as the most appropriate track to close the album; as its lyrics detail some of the crucial elements behind the band’s ideology propped up by an vast sound that strays from the broadly applicable structure that many tracks follow.

This touches on one of the few gripes that is likely to come to mind during a play-through of the record; that being the uniformed approach to song construction that proves to be the downfall of material such as ‘Do Something’ and ‘Live Like An Animal’ which fall short of the greatness that can be found elsewhere on the LP.

Despite a couple of minor missteps, this doesn’t in any way prevent Are You Satisfied? from being an excellent LP on the whole, as it is without a doubt an album that is worth the attention of all of those who deem themselves to be advocates of guitar-based music.

It’s important to remember (and often forget) that rock ‘n’ roll came into existence as a counter culture phenomenon, not something that should be diluted for the consumption of everyone across the board; written with intentions of solely playing stadiums and vying for inclusion on banal chat shows.

Rock ‘n’ roll- and more specifically punk- is intended to challenge the culturally accepted norms and inform the youth of what is going on in the world in the kind of non-partisan fashion way that a news outlet never could. This is precisely what Slaves have accomplished with this record; delivering a solid album of confrontational punk that both enlightens and scorns its audience with undeniable style.

Watch our interview with Slaves filmed in May 2015 below: