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Eric Slick has always operated on good vibes. Where much of his adventurous solo music has matched the sunny disposition that’s made him the glue both onstage and backstage, his latest LP New Age Rage is a more acerbic and fully-formed portrait of the Nashville-based artist. Across 10 tracks, he channels his anxieties of a dystopian tech-driven future, an often tumultuous life on the road, and being understood into thrilling and provocative synth-pop.

“With this album, I wanted to rattle a few cages and make something visceral that would provoke people a little bit” says Slick. “I didn’t want to put something out and have the reaction be, ‘This sounds nice.’” Compared to his breezy, ‘70s-rock-inspired 2020 LP Wiseacre, which detailed newfound domestic bliss, New Age Rage is abrasive and hard-hitting. There are glitched-out arrangements full of mesmerizing synths, unorthodox percussion, and bursts of robotic noise.

New Age Rage isn’t just about this bleak, anger-filled, and disconnected moment in human history. It’s also about Slick channeling these harsh, uncomfortable feelings into something productive. Even when things feel impossible, there’s power and humanity in grappling with it. “I didn't think I would ever make a record like New Age Rage,” says Slick. “This is the record I've always wanted to make. It’s helping me advocate for myself in ways I never thought was possible not just in the musical aspects, but on a day-to-day basis too.”