{"id":1194,"date":"2022-07-26T19:17:01","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T19:17:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bumblefest.com\/?p=1194"},"modified":"2022-08-02T19:43:10","modified_gmt":"2022-08-02T19:43:10","slug":"leah-wellbaum-slothrust","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bumblefest.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/leah-wellbaum-slothrust\/","title":{"rendered":"LEAH WELLBAUM (SLOTHRUST)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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LEAH WELLBAUM (SLOTHRUST)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If you play that game at Music-Map<\/b><\/span><\/a> where you type in a band and all kinds of similar acts bubble up, you might be a little thrown by the search returns for singer and guitarist Leah Wellbaum\u2019s<\/b> band, Slothrust<\/b>. There\u2019s Annabel Alum<\/b> and\u00a0Great Grandpa<\/b> hovering close by, and they certainly share similarities with Boston-bred, California-based Slothrust: All three have frontwomen belting out guitar-heavy tunes.<\/p>\n

But it is strange that the database doesn\u2019t also reach farther back for peers, since Slothrust also channel some of the early-\u201990s distaff alternative boom embodied by Liz Phair<\/b>, PJ Harvey<\/b> and Juliana Hatfield<\/b>.\u00a0Even considering the generational and gender spectrum, Wellbaum \u2014 who identifies as queer and gender fluid, and uses \u201cshe\u201d and \u201cthey\u201d \u2014 occupies that lane of the confessional singer-songwriter who also digs volume and distortion. And shredding. \u201cThere\u2019s a culture where women haven\u2019t been as encouraged to be loud and take up space,\u201d she told Guitar World<\/b> last year. \u201cGuitar solos are the opposite of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Wellbaum playing a solo voice-and-guitar set at Bumblefest<\/b>, fans might or might not hear solos, but they\u2019ll get to experience Slothrust songs pared to their core. Across five Slothrust albums over the last decade, Wellbaum has conjured a melodically literary world mixing magical realism and v\u00e9rit\u00e9. This year\u2019s release, \u201cParallel Timeline<\/b>,\u201d has some notably heavy, grungy production, so it will be fascinating to hear how those tracks resonate \u201cunplugged.\u201d<\/p>\n

With Slothrust touring the UK as of press time, Wellbaum was unavailable to talk with PureHoney<\/b>. But in a recent interview with <\/b>GoPride Chicago<\/b><\/span><\/a> she sounded confidently in her element even when not accompanied by a band. “I also play live for yoga meditation classes,\u201d she said. Wellbaum added that she\u2019s working out the contours of an album-length composition of improvised guitar over ambient soundscapes. \u201cI want to make that record in front of an audience because improvisation is important to me,\u201d she said. \u201cIn those settings, I am reading the room\u2019s energy and playing based on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Leah Wellbaum (Slothrust) plays Bumblefest Friday Sept. 2 in downtown West Palm Beach. <\/b>bumblefest.com<\/b><\/span><\/a> ~ David Rolland<\/b><\/p>\n

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