is the New Music Monday highlight!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nSlugger started back in 2023, but after a couple years and the release of their first EP, <\/span>Chumps & Suckers, <\/span><\/i>the band decided to go on hiatus and prioritize other projects.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nDespite the band deciding to take a break, frontman Matt Watton decided he had more to say and wanted to resuscitate the project with a new lineup.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nFormer members Matt Engelsman and Gunnar Byres have since been replaced by new members Harry Breeze and Alex Mendes, but before they went their separate ways, they recorded everything the band had written up to that point.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cGunnar left to travel in Asia indefinitely, and Matt E got busy with life and his other bands\u2014Hose, A Recorded Dawn,\u201d Watton told Victoria Buzz.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI wanted to continue the Slugger project but it was emotionally tough at first to think about playing these songs and new ones with new folks, so I waited a while and had to find a good fit.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nTo Watton, Breeze already felt like the unofficial fourth member of the band, as he had recorded and produced all of their music thus far. As for Mendes, he was between bands at the time, liked Slugger\u2019s vibe and shared musical tastes with Watton and Breeze, so he was also a shoo-in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWatton says that since bringing on the new members, the band\u2019s sound has pretty much stayed true-to-heart, but as they write new songs, the new members have been adding their own distinct flair.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cThat\u2019s what I like about playing with people \u2014 I have ideas or preconceptions of how a song should go, but in jamming and playing with others it evolves and the other guys add their own flare and sensibilities,\u201d Watton explained.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cSo just as Matt and Gunnar are unique players that pushed the songs in cool directions, so too do Harry and Alex put their own stamp on them.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nSlugger\u2019s newest release, <\/span>My Corporate Uncle, <\/span><\/i>is a seven-track album that was released on November 28th, 2025.<\/span><\/p>\nThough this album is brand new, it was written and recorded with Slugger\u2019s former lineup. Watton says that for him, this record was a way to get everything they had done recorded before parting ways.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nNow that there is a new edition of Slugger, the songs can see the light of day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWhile writing the album, Watton tried his best to write about everyday situations that may otherwise feel monotonous, adding a bit of fun and whimsy to make them feel more relatable.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI like to write about everyday stuff, but embellish it with poeticisms and nonsense,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI like to have fun with words and have fun with what songs can be about \u2014 there\u2019s a song about people who are late all the time and a song about Gunnar.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nThe title track and album name, \u201cMy Corporate Uncle\u201d stems from a phrase Watton heard when a former academic friend of his was trying to get help from his uncle while writing a resume. From there, Watton did what he is best at \u2014 he took the phrase and gave it new life by attaching a less-serious tone to an otherwise bleak situation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nHighlight Track \u2013 \u201cDock\u201d<\/b><\/h3>\n
Watton says that \u201cDock\u201d was actually the last song written for <\/span>My Corporate Uncle.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nIt began with a riff that felt hard to play, which Watton says is always the goal. He and his band mates always were trying to challenge themselves in order to keep things interesting.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nAs for the lyrics, it all stems from a time when Watton was reading <\/span>Moby Dick.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\u201cLyrically I was reading <\/span>Moby Dick<\/span><\/i> and obsessing about it a bit, while also just having some normal social life bullshit going on, and I was thinking about how nature sometimes doesn\u2019t really fulfill me in any way \u2014 sacrilege in the PNW, I know,\u201d said Watton.\u00a0 \u201cSo the lyrics are obliquely about that.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nWatton decided for this track, he wanted to put together a music video as well. This goal came to fruition after he found a treasure trove of footage of BC\u2019s whaling industry from the 1910s.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nOn top of being pretty spot on for the themes of <\/span>Moby Dick, <\/span><\/i>Watton says he found that this footage captured that feeling of ambivalence for nature as well.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n