Slippers is the music project of LA-based singer/songwriter Madeline Babuka Black, or Madeline BB. Black brings a nostalgic, almost melancholy sound to her music. Power pop with a bit of grit. If you took the poppy punk of Alvvays and threw in some early Strokes, The Feelies, and Camera Obscura you’d get in the ballpark of Slippers’ sound. You could even throw in a little Juliana Hatfield and Liz Phair, though that’s entirely up to you.
The newest from Slippers is Slippers 08. It’s 22 minutes and 11 songs that never make it to the two and a half minute mark. They’re catchy, melodic shots of garage pop that make you nostalgic for a time when power pop was blooming and college kids were deep diving into their low wattage college rock station. Slippers gives us an album of sweet and gritty pop songs covered in thrift store age and bittersweet navel gazing.
Slippers 08 starts out with a punk-y swagger on opener “Blueberry Peel(reprise)”, a song that brings the vibes of Blake Babies-meets-Fountains of Wayne. We then go into the driving “Wants For Everyone”, which brings Strokes’ Is This It feels, but minus the fake swagger and moldy leather jackets. “Wasted Tonight” has a head bobbing quality to it that brings 60s Brit pop to early Weezer simplicity, before they got too ironic for their own good.
Madeline BB brings nostalgia, heartbreak, and melancholy contemplation into this hazy, dreamy garage pop sound that I haven’t heard in a while. You can add her to the list of amazing female artists like Soccer Mommy, Snail Mail, and Lucy Dacus; artists trailblazing with great albums and great songs that feel timeless and ever connecting us all through the familiar pang of life. Songs like “Until You Can’t Give Up On Me”, “Reading Lucy’s Diary”, or “Sunday Morning” just have a classic, lived-in feel to them. The kind of songs Ray Davies would have happily added to albums like Something Else by The Kinks or Face To Face.
Are you looking for your next favorite summertime power pop jam? Look no further than Slippers’ Slippers 08.
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