Wuji makes an old-school statement with “Slipping”
For a video that takes a straight-ahead and simple approach, there’s a lot to zero in on if one pays attention to the little things in Wuji’s “Slipping”. Start with the buttons and patches adorning the coats of guitarists Andrew Kashak and 12-string afficianado Tyler Dallas. Those too lazy to click “About” on Facebook can learn plenty about a band by paying attention to the little details. In the case of “Slipping”, those include jeanjacket nods to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, the Rolling Stones, and Nirvana’s Sub Pop–era “Negative Creep”.
Add to this the from-another-netherworld lettering that flashes across the screen every 15 or seconds, and the fact that said lettering is impossible to decipher unless you speak Led Zeppelin or ΚΕΦΑΛΗΞΘ-era Ministry. As fantastic as Google Translate might be when you find yourself trying to order dinner in Wuhan or craft cocktails in Kuwait, good luck getting it to decode things here.
Taking a widescreen look at “Slipping”, director Logan Charron goes old-school with the idea nothing makes a statement like having a band plug in and play. Yes, things get mondo-trippy and mystical at the twominute mark, when the Pacific Northwest suddenly looks like the most spiritual place this side of Twin Peaks. But mostly, the thinking seems to be “Who needs a practice space or dank and sweaty club stage as a backdrop
when you’ve got what looks like a Canuck version of the muddy banks of the Wishkah?”
Speaking of Washington state—and assuming you got the reference—Wuji might list Cream and Tame Impala as being among seminal influences, but it’s the sound of Seattle that looms large in “Slipping”. Maybe the grey skies and flannel are what colour things, but goddamn if the four-piece doesn’t sound like the best parts of the Singles soundtrack—which is to say everything, including the Smashing Pumpkins’ totally overblown “Drown”.
Simple and straightforward? Yes. And, at the same time, not at all.