18th September 2026
Christopher Nosnibor
After a five-year hiatus, Manchester alt-rock band The Slow Day made their live comeback in August of last year, following it with the singles ‘Antidote’ and ‘All We Left Behind’ earlier this year. The arrival of ‘Fire’ firmly re-establishes their place as one of Manchester’s finest contemporary acts. Much has already been said of the way their sound draws on a broad range of ‘classic’ acts of the past but injects enough fresh energy to steer them well clear of being a nostalgia rip-off band.
‘Fire’, which they say is “a love song about acceptance, honesty and finding the one person brave enough to let you burn brighter,” is both a grower and an instant grab, starting out with sparse, shimmering guitar spaced out over a mellow, sedate bassline. Adam Moss is in a romantic mood, his grizzled tones crooning gently, ‘your heart takes me to desire’, and opining on his love’s fine features, including her red hair. Then, in a beat, he’s belting out with full lungs ‘YOU SET MY SOUL ON FIRE!’ Now, lyrically, this is hardly some novel poetical creation: love burning like fire and the like was a staple of the sonnet in the Elizabethan era. Similarly, starting delicately to entice the listener in before letting fly with the full band sound driving an anthemic chorus is by no means an innovation. But, when it comes to tried and tested tropes and templates, it’s all about the execution.
These guys are no youths, and have been around long enough to hear plenty of bands, meaning they don’t have the arrogance – or ignorance – to think that what they’re doing is breaking new ground, and instead, they’re able to work to their strengths. They’re not just technically solid, but the song positively crackles with the kind of energy that’s never been present on an Oasis record.
AA
