Words by Simon Kelesidis.

For creative people, inspiration can come from anywhere or anything: Dreams, films, even nature, but it is said that the best creators are the ones who play with the raw materials of life, who channel all their emotions, experiences and lessons into the art they’re making. With the release of their debut album sentimental slowdown, South Australian punk band TOWNS, cement themselves as this type of visionary, crafting a musical time capsule with sounds reminiscent of bands including Simple Plan, Bowling for Soup and Sum 41.

At first sentimental slowdown seems like the perfect summer album, the one to play in the car with the sunroof down while belting out the lyrics without a care in the world. But once you peel back the euphoric production with its nostalgic 2000s rock sound, you’ll find a deep coming of age story, in which lead singer/guitarist Aston Valladares and drummer Daniel Steinart (who co wrote every track on the album) let their walls down over the course of 35 minutes, baring their vulnerable sides for all the world to hear.

Birthdays is an existential crisis wrapped in a rock song as Valladares expresses his frustrations with getting older in a society that expects you to sink or swim with no warning of what’s to come.

‘They said I gotta do my taxes, what the hell are faxes? / And why does hair go grey? / You mean it goes something like this? Misery is righteous, does someone know the way?’ he ponders over the upbeat track and all of a sudden you’re transported into the start of a teen movie with the mentality of its protagonist as you begin to wonder why weren’t you taught this earlier? Why did our parents or educators never teach us how to adult? Why are we only finding out how difficult life is when we’re in the thick of it?

In contrast, l8tely is a song recognising inner turmoil rather than wallowing in it. They say the first step to overcoming a problem such as mental health concerns is to acknowledge you have one, which can be the hardest step to take especially in a harsh world that keeps spinning, never stopping because someone needs to catch up.

While Valladares acknowledges his passive method of dealing with his problems (getting outside into nature and sitting in the sun) isn’t entirely healthy, it’s all he needs to get through in the meantime and technically it is a good way to clear your head; but soon there’ll have to come a time where you have to confide in someone else.

For Valladares, that person is Steinert, and vice versa; the two sharing a tenured history according to them. “We first met on our first day of uni, dreaming of achieving just a fraction of the incredible things we've been fortunate enough to do. This album feels like a chapter in the story of everything we've experienced together.”

With sentimental slowdown’s release falling on the 10th anniversary of their friendship, the labour of love feeling the bandmates have translated into the 11-track LP, but no song shows off the strength of their bond more than Two Steps Far Away.

The duo slightly slows the pace down for this mellowly track, affirming that no matter what thoughts of self-doubt plague their heads, they’ll always be there for each other; in an already confessional record, this is a heartwarming moment that listeners old and new will adore.

However, the song that shows the band off at its best is can’t blame yr dad. With slick production and a catchy chorus, the newest single from the album focuses on a narrator whose friend is going through a rough patch and is isolating themselves to cope with it, despite the narrator wanting them to confide in him to pull them out of the funk they’re in.

While you’d expect the track to be about a friend of the groups or one bandmate writing about the other, it turns out the track is about Valladares looking in on his own self, describing it as “a song about seeing myself in a rut, wanting to make it better, but realising it’s not up to me, it’s up to them.” 

It’s this sort of introspective thinking and empathetic nature that makes sentimental slowdown such a delight. TOWNS not only have lived through these experiences firsthand, but know how to translate their emotions into the right words to connect to their listeners.

Even the simplest of lyrics like ‘Slamming doors like a lost cause’ on track TANTRUM, evokes a feeling in listeners. Who hasn’t had an utter meltdown and gone to their room slamming the door behind them for dramatic emphasis? Everyone’s been there before or at least knows someone who’s been there.

With the album's upbeat sound, it could be easy to tie up sentimental slowdown with a bright ribbon and the classic ‘And everybody lived happily ever after,’ but TOWNS know life doesn’t work out like that. Things like anxiety or self-doubt don’t just fade away, you have to contend with them and that’s a big part of the album’s closer, which is aptly the title track.

The song talks about the tension between the urge to grow up and the comfort of holding onto the past. ‘Grow up and let go? No way. We’ll chill out and reminisce, thanks,’ the band says, the theme resonating throughout the album. ‘All I do is rely on the feeling / Being proud when I’m stupid and loud / I’m allowed, I’m allowed’ is a line that both reflects on staying youthful despite the passage of time and also reflects the group’s writing prose.

This album is a celebration of life, even the flawed moments, as it’s from singing about their toughest moments that TOWNS showcases the biggest strength a musician can have; a connection to their audience. With this in mind, it helps turn lyrics like ‘I’m a clown for no occasion, a frown that’s grown complacent. Put me on a stage and laugh. / Sentimental slowdown, facing fears in the crowd’ into a somewhat optimistic situation. While anxiety still plays a part in Valladares’s life, he gets to go on stage and sing about his life experience in songs he can be proud about for fans who are connected to them.

With TOWNS currently on tour (with several shows selling out) they’re getting to see firsthand the fans who feel a link to their creation, whether it’s because they connect to the lyrics or because they love the throwback sound, mirroring the band’s celebration of nostalgia, seeing it as a refuge rather than a hurdle.

This sense of community both within the band and with their fans, shows how well sentimental slowdown translates to its audience. Getting older in today’s world can be scary, but as long as you have the right people around you to guide you through life, it isn’t so bad after all.