Sluka mark a pivotal moment in human existence with their monumental third single and video When The Genie’s Out — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Taken from the eponymous prog-rock outfit’s upcoming album Cautionary Yell, the timeless yet timely song commemorates one of the most controversial dates in human history: July 16. For those not familiar, on July 16, 1945, the first atomic bomb test explosion occurred as part of the Trinity Project. Anyone with a rudimentary knowledge will know what happened from there: The bomb was deployed on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan and effectively ended the Second World War. But that was just the beginning. When The Genie’s Out explores the more long-standing repercussions of humanity having this newfound, world-ending power.
On what they call one of Sluka’s “most menacing songs,” the band use more than lyrics to reflect the geopolitical chaos that’s happened since Trinity. The rich tones and heavy-handed composition that typify their sound lend themselves very well to the heaviness of the subject matter. Sluka and producer Alan Sanderson go deeper and darker in the production as well, adding discordant elements which underline the chaos and fear of the theme. A truly progressive song, When The Genie’s Out pulls no punches and is meant to remind listeners of how we as a society got here.
The video for When The Genie’s Out, released on the same date as the song, is equally evocative. Sluka and his band are superimposed over images of war and nuclear explosions, money, the Statue of Liberty and, finally, a cockroach, the only animal that would allegendly survive nuclear holocaust.
Stark and strong, When The Genie’s Out shows that Cautionary Yell will have a serious message to go along with its heavier rock tones, just in case the first two singles — Sunset Screamer and Saving It All — didn’t make it clear. Fans should be ready for a politically charged, prog rock journey once the album’s out. In the meantime, When The Genie’s Out will be out to get the wheels of thought and change turning.
Christopher Sluka was always musically inclined. He remembers his first instrument as a trombone, but on his eighth birthday his parents gave him a guitar. Now, while he claims not to be an expert musician, he can hold his own on piano, drums, bass, French horn, percussion, trumpet and of course, guitar. By age 13, he was trying his hand at songwriting. By 17, he was in New York City going to college and playing in clubs.
Between the ’80s and today, he’s released hit singles in Japan and Europe, released albums on major labels and started his own, owned not one but two successful coffee shops, and sold them to open a flight school. “For me, flying and music are very similar,” he says. “They both feel like magic and it’s incredible that human beings are able to do them both. They follow check lists. Mistakes can have dire consequences. They require lots of study, practice, and repetition. And yet no two flights are the same and no two musical performances are the same.”
In 2021, Sluka released his 13th album, Figure it Out. While he covers guitar, keyboards and vocals, he’s joined by bassist Anna Eppink, as he was on the 2019 release Ready to Connect. “Anna has a very unique style. She comes up with bass parts I never would have thought of. She also has many ideas visually for our videos and our live show. And she influences me greatly through our endless discussions of life on this planet.”
Watch the video for Saving It All, hear more from Sluka below, and find them on his website, Facebook and Instagram.
