It’s hard not to feel disillusioned by the state of the world right now. It’s getting harder to scrape by; our algorithms are a constant whiplash between images of genocide and manmade destruction and TikTok Shop hauls that will end up in rotting landfills; and it feels like few in power are interested in helping anyone besides the rich. Why not just give up, stop caring and bury your head in the sand?
Chloe Slater knows exactly how you feel. She’s made putting a voice to those frustrations her M.O. since her 2024 single ‘24 Hours’, whose viral success opened her up to a whole new audience of like-minded fans. On her debut album, ‘Riot Youth’, the former NME Cover star builds out a communal, cathartic space to air her generation’s shared struggles, acknowledging the anger that comes with watching the world burn as well as the need to switch off from it all sometimes.
If you’ve ever tried to have a conversation about politics with older relatives on the other side of the aisle, you’ll recognise the situations she depicts in the bouncy ‘Can I Finish Please’. ‘Mother Nature’s Killing Spree’ creates a dystopian picture of the (perhaps not-so-distant) future where our planet finally bites back big time and wipes us out. And on the zipping ‘Ugly’, she joins us in our capitalist hellscape, locked into a cycle of holidays manufactured or co-opted for corporations’ gain. “Happy Pride, happy Easter, Halloween, Valentine’s […] I’ll buy my plastic clown mask”, she sings scornfully, painfully aware of who’s being made a fool of, but unable to detach.
What’s striking about ‘Riot Youth’ is how little it drags you down, for a record shaped by climate disaster, capitalist exploitation and the world’s political instability. Rather than judge her peers from on high, she places herself firmly among them (“I’m not here to preach / I know it sounds like I am”, she sings on ‘Get Me Out’), while the album is consistently full of hope, passion and a sense of fun. The 23-year-old’s knack for writing big, uplifting choruses is showcased in abundance – one listen to the glimmering rush of ‘Southern Youth’ will leave it in your head for days – and hearing her vocalise the anxieties that plague a lot of us is a welcome reminder we’re all in this together.
At times, like on ‘I’ve Never Felt So Hated’, Slater turns her lens inward, laying out her experiences with internet trolls since becoming an increasingly bigger deal in music. It’s a situation specific to her, but written in a way that still feels relatable as our online world becomes ever more toxic, whether you exist in the public eye or not. It’s proof that Slater’s sharp songwriting can take on many forms, from broad studies on society to more hyper-focused experiences, and still do their job, reaching out a hand of connection to anyone who feels the same.
Details
- Record label: Stolen Juice (AWAL)
- Release date: October 9, 2026
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