Sea-scapes and Pacific pop vibes courtesy of Slumped; video still courtesy of Timmy Lohdi / True Colors.

As any media hub and every last vestige of reputable print will show you — it is an exciting time for Bay Area arts. Trends rise and fall, and as the most recent tech bubble fizzles and fades in luster and mutates to whatever arrives next; local creatives have been busy making some of the most amazing sights, sounds, sentiments, statements, and more. Where inspiration and joy connect, hope springs eternal. There is a palpable sense of camaraderie, community, collaboration, and a true belief in one another and the spirit to create the brighter world you want for yourself and everyone else around you. As a result the visual outlook is brighter, the sounds are louder, the state of mind is elevated, and the energy is bursting with the sense of infinite possibilities.

This is the sentiment and mentality of Slumped’s new album Last Day on Earth. The Oakland band have been generating buzz since 2017, increasingly elaborating upon their musical productions to create some of the most grandiose rock & roll fit for both humble dives and stadium stages alike. Guided by the vision of bandleader Nathaniel-Thomas Punty, Slumped exalts the slacker pop canons that recall your favorite 90s underdogs and manages to perfect that punchy practice space luster and catapult it to an astronomical degree. As the Bay continues to bring some of the world’s best talents and arts, Slumped contributes to what can only be described and felt as an unstoppable force of nature that is not slowing any time soon.

Last Day on Earth is Slumped's surprise end of summer splash to make the shift into fall a little easier. "An Introduction" opens the album with gentle guitar and classic film samples that gracefully grooves into the solitary suave of "Alone". Nathaniel and company compress the styles heard on hundreds of revered VHS tapes of skate lore and concoct a distillation that bottles the spirit of independence and living life according to your own clock and compass. The heavy, bold and big ode to solitude blazes into the rapids of "Enough" that burns with the vacuum tube incandescence of an activated mosh pit where the crunchy cavalcade of guitars are neatly organized in a mix that feels furious, fresh, and refreshingly familiar (like that old CDR that got stuck in the console deck of your buddy's old '96 Honda Civic). The title track sounds reminiscent of artful dodgers from days of yore in a ballad that brings it all back home, while teetering on the edge of existence and extinction in equal measure. Wistfulness and wide-eyed wonder runs wild on "Undressed", riding the rocking rails of romanticism and the allure of immortalized infatuations. The cocktails of classic cool that mix Pinkerton and Parklife bloom in full on the bombast of "Satisfaction" that struts with the pout of pub pop pomp and a surreal sense as if there was nothing after 1999.

"Dave" cranks up the pace, a slam-dance invitation to treat the ballroom floor as a citadel gauntlet dedicated to the sanctity of unhinged self-actualization. This dovetails into the genius of "Trippin'", a single complete with visuals that shows Nathaniel day-tripping about the Bay from Potrero Hill, the Mission to the outer edges beside the Pacific Ocean next to the Great Highway. "Trippin'" is the sound of a band being on top of the world, exuding all that have inspired them previously and welcoming the arrival of the future with open arms, open minds, and open hearts set aflame for what's next beyond the foggy horizon.

The penultimate track "Slow Hammer" prepares its descent like a power pop comet that touches down with "Staying Myself" that rocks with a vintage-steeped sway like a torch song for the wallflowers of the world wondering when it will be their season and turn to shine. As Slumped concludes their nonstop cornucopia of catchy chords and hooks, the Oakland band has delivered an event not to be missed with the advent of one of the year's most exciting releases. Once again, 2024 feels like 1994 (but even better than before).