It is possible that you recognize the name. Stickers printed with “Slow Caves” in geometric black text are plastered all around Denver, despite the band’s origin being in Fort Collins. Although still making their way towards large scale fame, Slow Caves is a staple of local bands in Colorado.
A band with its roots that extend back into childhood, Slow Caves is made up of siblings Oliver and Jakob Mueller, and friend David Dugan. Oliver and Dugan met in elementary school, where they bonded over drawing cartoons on each other’s papers and discussing their love for the film, “School of Rock.” Oliver explained that he and Jakob began guitar lessons around the same time, when Jakob was in first grade and him in fifth.
“We’ve all been playing music since we were kids basically. David, the bassist and I would play Green Day concerts in his garage growing up and Jakob and I have been taking music lessons since he was in first grade or something and I was in fifth grade. We’ve always played a lot of music,” Oliver said.
The group began seriously playing in 2014, performing at house parties around Fort Collins, and eventually larger venues outside of their home city. Their first single, “Dessert Minded” was released in 2016 with their first album “Falling” entering the music scene in 2019. Most recently, the band released the single “Walk in the Park” in 2020 followed by “Before I Leave” which was put out this year.
Early on, the band was inspired by many rock artists, especially those from the 90s, which is apparent in the music that they produce. “The early influences for sure were Green Day, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Who, Nirvana, Jimi Hendrix, David Bowie, stuff that our parents had on,” Oliver said.
As the members further their musical education and continue experimenting with their creative processes, the sound of Slow Caves is evolving in compelling ways.
Talking on drawing from new influences Oliver said, “We focus, at least more recently, on the sounds of the 1990s grunge, britpop, and some of the electronic side of stuff. I don’t know why but a lot of it has to do with British culture, we’re really into British TV and music, and there was so much great music coming out of the UK during that time [1990s].”
Slow Caves delivers catchy indie tunes that are sure to appeal to a wide range of listeners. But, the band is more than just what they present sonically on the surface. Beneath their distorted riffs and poppy melodies, lies lyrics that are bred from an organic songwriting process.
“A lot of times it’s sort of off the cusp stream of consciousness,” Oliver said of his songwriting process. He explained that after naturally conjuring up lyrics, the band will often go back and listen to the demo then build the song from that point.
Oliver explained that inspiration comes from an array of sources for both him and Jakob. “He’s [Jabok] very personal and has talked a lot about mental health and self care,” Oliver said.
For his lyrical content specifically, Oliver described how many times the media that he is consuming plays a big part in writing lyrics.
“I remember the first song I ever wrote, I had just seen Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith, and there’s the part where they’re fighting on the lava planet. There was a line where I sang, “I fell into a pit of lava” and I changed lava to love,” Oliver said.
Whether the songwriting is sparked by Star Wars or personal struggles, it is undeniable that Slow Caves delivers songs that are relatable and easy to get lost in, especially when paired with their tasteful style of playing.
With 15 plus years of playing together, Slow Caves is still at the cusp of their careers, and they are not ready to end the fun anytime soon. Due to live music being at a stand still for the past year, Oliver explained that the band had an excess of extra time to write songs and further experiment with their composition and recording.
“We’re excited to reveal that new facet of ourselves to the world because we have a lot of new songs that sound a bit different, they’re a little more out there,” he said.
Listen to Slow Caves on Spotify and look to their website for information on upcoming shows.
