EP Review: Slow Century – Goodbye Oblivion

This may be the first EP from Portsmouth quintet Slow Century, but it’s also the result of two decades of making music.

It’s also the first time the five band members have worked together as one unit, though down the years they have shared bills at gigs and festivals. As their previous projects wound down, that gave them the opportunity to work as a band.

Joe, Dan, and Mike worked together in Horseflies, Steve’s band You’re Smiling Now but We’ll All Turn Into Demons were reaching the end, as (the other) Dan’s outfit, Manreads, was in a similar position. The bonds of friendship and that familiarity with the previous work of the others have allowed them to channel electronic, punk, and more into a sound that works to its own boundaries.

You can hear that on opener and title track Goodbye Oblivion, which has all the urgency of Hüsker Dü and weaves it around elements that would be familiar to fans of R.E.M.’s early works. Fuzzy and energetic, it sets the scene for the EP yet doesn’t define it.

It’s followed on the EP by Scattered Atoms, which has a looser, clearer sound: punk rears its head here; the choppy guitars and tight intro got me thinking of XTC. The track soon breaks that initial calm, the vocals bursting with emotion, the guitars and synths also straining at the confines. It’s hard to grasp that it clocks in at under three minutes; it’s so packed with ideas and movement.

Cover The Bruise lowers the tempo, but its sharp tones in the arrangement are equally reflected in the observational, accusatory tale that gives the lyrics such a visceral impact. There are no hidden meanings here – the song tells it like it is, reflecting on the nature of fascism and fear.

That band has spoken about Paint The Shadows drawing from Horseflies; for me, it equally ties in with the post-punk/hardcore tones of the title track, dark and passionate. Old World, by contrast, is more synth-led from the intro and has an initial stillness about it that becomes unnerving in nature as the lyrics talk of losing focus on the world around us. Despite that, it has the hallmarks of a dark anthem, one that is ripe for audience interaction.

Slow Century has named the likes of Pavement, LCD Soundsystem, Fugazi, and The Chameleons as formative influences on the EP. You can hear something of those bands for sure, but Slow Century have distilled their own lives, musical experiences, and talents into five tracks that are personal, yet seem destined to be shared on a wider scale.

Goodbye Oblivion came out on the 1st of May, 2026 – it can be downloaded on Bandcamp and is streaming on Spotify and SoundCloud. Catch up with Slow Century on Instagram and Facebook for band news and other listening options.