Sløtface’s Haley Shea: The 10 songs that changed my life

As Haley Shea prepares to drop the first Sløtface EP as a solo project, the musician reflects on the music that has gotten her this far – from inspirational Norwegian post-punk to a little bit of pop cheese…

“It’s probably not the first song ever, but it’s the clearest memory of a song that I have! I very vividly remember my parents listening to that song when I was, like, 5. My dad especially really loves Bruce Springsteen, and I remember as a kid feeling like that was a side of him that I hadn’t seen before – and that’s why it’s such a vivid memory. I just remember being like, ‘What is happening here?!’ It’s definitely one of those songs from being a kid that made the most impact on me, and I’m very much still a fan to this day. My parents are both American, and I was at my cousin’s wedding in August and we were sat around this table with three generations telling their stories of when they first saw him live, which was really special. And, actually, the new Sløtface stuff is very Springsteen-influenced!”

“I loved My Chemical Romance! I remember the first time I saw Welcome To The Black Parade on MTV, and it was just like, ‘What is this?! Who are these people?!’ I had recently gotten really into Queen at the time, and I felt like My Chemical Romance were my generation’s Queen. I’m a sucker for melodies, and all the melodies and theatrics just really kept me interested. I love that whole record and I still know it all off by heart to this day, but I was obsessed with the guitar solo from Dead! when I was a teenager. When that record came out I just listened to that song over and over again on my headphones – especially when I was feeling extra teenager-y! I’d listen to that and be like, ‘Fuck you, you don’t understand!’”

“Westlife was my first proper show – my mum took me to the capital of Norway, Oslo, which is where I live now but back then we were on the west coast. I think it’s really funny, because I remember it as a good experience, but even back then I just kept thinking that they took it way too far and they played way too many songs (laughs). By the second encore I remember sarcastic little me being like, ‘How can there be more? How are they still playing?’ And now as an adult I’m like, ‘Aw, my poor mum!’ It was a very exciting and expensive gift to give a 10-year-old who loves music, and I was just like, ‘Can we go home now?!’ And it was also in, like, 2005, so Westlife maybe weren’t as popular at that point. It was too much!”

“I didn’t really decide that I was gonna be a musician until maybe last year (laughs) after having been in a band for 10 years. First it was a hobby, and then when I graduated high school I hadn’t really intended on being a musician, just because I thought it was an impractical career choice – which it is, but I’ve come to terms with that! But I saw Deathcrush when I went to my first proper camping festival, and it was the most eye-opening experience. I remember so clearly watching bands and being like, ‘I have to do this!’ It was something that made me excited in a way that nothing else did. And seeing Deathcrush was the most my brain has ever felt like it was exploding, but they were so cool and good and interesting and sexy, and they captivated the audience in such a cool way. And I don’t think I’d ever really seen female rock stars before at that point – because that’s what they are to me, and they always will be. You have to listen to them – they’re very different now, but they’re still really good!”

“I’m a huge Phoebe Bridgers fan and have been from the start, and I’ve been a huge Conor Oberst fan since I was a kid. And there’s just something about the lyrics, and the two of them singing that specific song. I think the whole record is great, but some of the lines on this song – like when they’re describing this arena concert in the second – kind of epitomise to me the love that you feel when you’re at a really good show. It always makes me think of that, and that makes me cry.”

“Obviously we’ve written love songs because it always sneaks in, but that was the first time that I really tried to make something that felt like a love song. And that was a really uncomfortable place for me to come from, actually, and it felt really vulnerable. I had this thing for a lot of years where I very specifically tried to write anything but love songs – I kept telling people that I couldn’t write them because there’s so many good love songs in the world, and there was no point in really trying to write more, because it’s all already been said. I told my now-boyfriend, who I was dating at the time, and he was like, ‘Don’t you think it’s just because you’re a little scared of writing one? Obviously there’s room for more love songs in the world!’ I’m proud that we finished it and left it in, and it’s one of my favourite songs to play live. And I just think it’s a good song – I’m happy we wrote it and pushed through!”

“I feel like as a singer you shouldn’t really participate in karaoke – I think it’s kind of bad form! There’s a lot of other people who don’t get to stand on a stage and sing who probably wish it was their job, and so I feel like you should give karaoke to those people and be a supportive audience member! But with that song I think I can kind of get away with it, because I can do a little parody of Alanis Morissette so I’m not taking myself too seriously (laughs).”

“We tried to write it so many times, but we could never quite finish it. It was originally supposed to be on our debut record that came out in 2017 [Try Not To Freak Out], but we didn’t get it right so we picked it up again when we were working on the second album. Some songs come easily and some are just a real headache to finish, and that was just always one of those songs that was a headache. On the first two records we were a very traditional four-piece band – drums did drums, bass did bass, guitars did guitars, and vocals did vocals. And it was just a really hard song to put lyrics and melody over that I felt worked with the song and harmonised with what the instruments were trying to do, kind of. And it’s also a very angular song, so it was hard to find the right melodies and words that went together – for me, just technically, I felt like I kept banging my head against a wall. Luckily I got some good help from the producer who produced that record, and we finished it together!”

“I had a couple of options for this, but maybe some were too recent – only in the past year. So I went with this – it’s the theme song to the John Hughes movie Weird Science. It’s a totally ridiculous song, and that’s why I think I like it! I don’t know how many people have heard it, so as a musician who talks to a lot of other musicians as a big part of my free time, I feel like I can always pull that song out and nobody will have heard it (laughs). And it puts a smile on everyone’s face. It always makes me smile, and it always makes me want to be silly and dance. I’m a big John Hughes fan, and I think this song perfectly epitomises that ’80s ridiculousness in a really good way!”

“I think it would be kind of funny, and a little bit tongue-in-cheek! I wish Morrissey was not the way he is, but I still really like The Smiths. And I feel like when I’m dead nobody can blame me for liking them, because I’ll be dead (laughs).”

Sløtface’s new EP AWAKE / ASLEEP is due out February 24 via Propeller Recordings

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