Freak Slug

Shares live video for recent single, “Killer” – watch HERE

UK/EU tour this May with a London show at Moth Club on 22 May now sold out, plus a hometown show in Manchester on 23 May at Deaf Institute

Following incredible US tour with head-turning shows at SXSW

I Blow Out Big Candles (But With A Cherry On Top), out now via Future Classic – stream/purchase HERE

Freak Slug photo credit El Hardwick

“a perfect chord of weird and charming that feels fitting for her band’s peculiar name“ – The Fader

“It’s when Xenya Genovese lets the Freak overtake the lackadaisical Slug that ‘… Big Candles’ is best.” – DIY: 4*

“A thrilling ride” – Dork: 4*

“a compelling artistic force” – The Line Of Best Fit

“Deceptively pretty laid-back dream-pop interspersed with blasts of grungy rage, went down a storm” – The Times (SXSW coverage)

“Freak Slug is a moniker that perfectly embodies the curious, offbeat charm of Xenya Genovese’s sound, capturing both whimsy and bite.” – CMU

“I like the depth of the music, there’s a cinematic emotion and it doesn’t just relate but it explores the feelings with the sounds and the drama in the lyricism… if you’re a fan of Lana Del Ray, Beabadoobee and a complex web of both those brilliant artists… feels so weightless, carefree… I like it a lot…” – Jack Saunders – BBC Radio 1

“Another favourite of ours on the show, grungy, flirtatious and so incredibly magnetic… hopefully she’ll find her sexy lemon soon… follow up to ‘Spells’ which we also love… exciting things in the pipeline so watch this space” – Jess Iszatt – BBC Radio 1 Introducing

Freak Slug, the project of the Manchester multi-disciplinary artist Xenya Genovese, today shares a new live video for her single, “Killer”, ahead of an upcoming UK tour this May.

A haunting alt-pop track that weaves between Xenya’s enticing vocals and a sudden bursting guitar hook, the original version of “Killer” features on I Blow Out Big Candles (But With A Cherry On Top), the expanded edition of her debut album, which is out now via Future Classic digitally and on LP. The live version was filmed at a sold out live show at Union Pool in Brooklyn, USA last December and is now available to watch here.

After embarking on her first US tour last December with two live shows each in New York and Los Angeles plus a date in Chicago, which all sold out, Freak Slug returned to the US for a second time for a resoundingly successful extensive North American tour in March and early April. The dates kicked off with a sold out show in Seattle and featured multiple standout performances at SXSW, where she was widely tipped as one to watch, was photographed for Rolling Stone US and was featured in The Times’ SXSW round up who described her as “deceptively pretty laid-back dream-pop interspersed with blasts of grungy rage – went down a storm”. Her US dates also earned attention from the US blogosphere including Best Left Mag, Northern Transmissions, Ease Up Mag, QRO, Off the Record Press, Grimy Goods, Backbeat Seattle and We All Want Someone To Shout For.

Fresh from the glow of the US tour, Freak Slug is now set to kick off an extensive UK run, her first since the release of I Blow Out Big Candles. Supported in the UK by Vancouver band Babe Corner, the dates include a sold out show in London at Moth Club on 22 May as well as a hometown date in Manchester at Deaf Institute on 23 May. See the full list of live dates below.

Recorded in Manchester and London with Alex Headford (Jadu Heart / Gretel), I Blow Out Big Candles was released digitally last November via Future Classic, with the expanded edition, I Blow Out Big Candles (But With A Cherry On Top), released last month. The expanded release saw the debut album available on LP for the first time, along with two new bonus tracks, “Liquorice” and “Killer”. “Liquorice”, which was premiered on BBC Radio 6 Music by Nemone (in for Nick Grimshaw), was also featured as Amy Lamé’s Sunday Girl on 6 Music and Sian Eleri’s Next Wave on BBC Radio 1, and was added to the Radio X X-Posure List, whereas “Killer” was featured as the New Music Fix on BBC Radio 6 Music. Stream / purchase I Blow Out Big Candles (But With A Cherry On Top), here.

A debut that builds a whole world for it to live in, I Blow Out Big Candles is playful, fun, but not shying away from the darker sides of both sound and psyche, and dreams as big and unshackled as Freak Slug herself. The record was described by Clash as “a bold and assured statement” and Uncut called it, “joyously lo-fi punk and synthpop”, while The Line Of Best Fit named Freak Slug “a compelling artistic force“.

Hugely influenced by ‘90s cult heroes including Ride, Mazzy Star and Stephen Malkmus, Freak Slug is all about hitting a mood. Everything that fuels her creative output is raw, authentic, sometimes weird, but always totally true self-expression. She wants to make music that “has bite”, that “doesn’t fuck about”, that “cuts the shit”. I Blow Out Big Candles is a strong statement of all of this and more.