Take Control (Slaves album)

Take Control is the second studio album by English punk rock duo Slaves, released on 30 September 2016. The album was produced by former Beastie Boys member Mike D, who also makes a guest appearance on the song "Consume or Be Consumed".[8] Lead single "Spit It Out" debuted at number 37 on the UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart upon its initial release,[9] later re-entering at number 28.[10]

Take Control
Studio album by
Slaves
Released30 September 2016
RecordedJackson Browne's studio, Santa Monica, California
Genre
Length42:22
LabelVirgin EMI
ProducerMike D
Slaves chronology
Are You Satisfied?
(2015)		 Take Control
(2016)		 Acts of Fear and Love
(2018)
Singles from Take Control
  1. "Spit It Out"
    Released: 30 September 2016[2]
  2. "Take Control"
    Released: 28 October 2016[3]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[5]
TheSoundBot70%[6]
NME4/5[7]

Background

Producer Mike D said of the album and the band:

I feel right now the world needs an album like this. Something that is more raw, more alive and less polished. I was impressed with the band's strong point of view. They actually speak their minds about social topics [...] The initial conversation I had with [guitarist] Laurie [Vincent], there were so many influences he mentioned that I love – from the Gang of Four to The Cramps to The Damned to Public Image Ltd to The Slits and on and on. All records that I truly loved and I couldn't believe he knew all of them so well for a person his age.[11]

Vincent said that the album is "more well-rounded" than their debut album, and that it "dips a bit further in to politics" with their aim being to "inspire people to have an opinion". There will also be "a few songs where [they] play [their] instruments differently and Isaac might be on bass while Vincent plays guitar, and Isaac raps a bit". The duo wanted to "write some heavier music" that was "very guitar-based and thrashy" but had to slow the songs down due to "various injuries".[12]

Promotion

In order to promote Take Control, Slaves initially announced a 15-date UK tour in November 2016,[13] although later announced a smaller-scale "Back in the Van" UK tour for September 2016 to precede the release of the album, in which the band are set to play much smaller venues across the UK, which normally "never get bands coming back to them" when they become more widely known. In order to acquire tickets, buyers had to pre-order the album from the band's website before tickets went on sale.[14] Tickets for all venues had fully sold out within an hour.[15]

Accolades
Publication Accolade Year Rank
NME NME's Albums of the Year 2016 2016
38[16]

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Spit It Out"Isaac Holman, Laurie Vincent2:41
2."Hypnotised"Holman, Vincent2:59
3."Consume or Be Consumed" (featuring Mike D)Mike D, Holman, Vincent3:20
4."Take Control"Holman, Vincent1:52
5."Mr. Industry" (skit)Holman, Vincent0:12
6."Rich Man"Holman, Vincent2:17
7."Play Dead"Holman, Vincent2:35
8."Lies"Holman, Vincent4:05
9."Fuck the Hi-Hat"Holman, Vincent0:44
10."Gary" (skit)Holman, Vincent0:14
11."People That You Meet"Joel Amey, Holman, Vincent3:41
12."Steer Clear" (featuring Baxter Dury)Fabienne Débarre, Holman, Vincent2:53
13."Cold Hard Floor"Holman, Vincent4:15
14."STD's / PhD's"Holman, Vincent3:12
15."Angelica"Holman, Vincent3:38
16."Same Again"Holman, Vincent3:44
Total length:42:22

Charts
Chart (2016) Peak
position
Scottish Albums (OCC)[17] 9
UK Albums (OCC)[18] 6
gollark: So... hm.
gollark: I think it actually says something about learning about the "dark web" under the program descriptiony thing.
gollark: Really? Hmm.
gollark: They are very minimal. I only really found someone saying that they used a few cybersecurity-y tools I heard about.
gollark: Some of https://www.smallpeicetrust.org.uk/uploads/Student%20Points%20Comfortable%20Stay.pdf seems vaguely worrying.

References
  1. Casey-Woodward, Harry (20 October 2016). "Music Review: Slaves, 'Take Control'". Things & Ink. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
  2. "Spit It Out 7" Single". shop.virginemi.com/slaves. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  3. "Take Control 7". shop.virginemi.com/slaves. Retrieved 13 November 2018.
  4. "Take Control by Slaves". Metacritic. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  5. Martin, Liam. "Review of Take Control". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  6. Rees, Natalie (3 October 2016). "Slaves: Take Control – Album Review". TheSoundBot. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  7. Bassett, Jordan (28 July 2016). "Slaves - 'Take Control' Review'". NME.com. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  8. "Slaves announce full details of Beastie Boys produced new album Take Control". HMV. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  9. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/rock-and-metal-singles-chart/20160819/111/
  10. https://www.officialcharts.com/charts/rock-and-metal-singles-chart/20161007/111/
  11. "Mike D to Appear on New Album by Slaves, 'Take Control'". Diffuser.fm. 12 August 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  12. "Slaves on new album Take Control "We want to inspire people to have an opinion"". Wow247. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  13. "Slaves announce tour for new album 'Take Control'". NME. 15 August 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  14. "Slaves announce intimate Back in the Van Tour". Upset Magazine. 27 September 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  15. "31 August at 10:59". Facebook. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 3 September 2016.
  16. "NME's Albums of the Year 2016". NME. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
  17. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  18. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
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