Chuck Sics’ Wry, Wild Debut, Slipstream: Track By Track + Review

Ben Preece
Sep 23
5 min read

One of the most exciting — and frankly underrated — indie artists right now is Sydney’s Chuck Sics. A psych-rock tinkerer and bedroom-pop craftsman who lands somewhere between a hyper-eccentric Beck and a pop-leaning Tame Impala, he bends expectations and makes music that refuses to sit comfortably in one lane — and that’s the point.

His debut EP, Slipstream, is the sound of an artist experimenting with form and falling headlong into discovery. We first introduced Chuck in July with his debut single, ‘Redo,’ and since then he’s been carving a path toward this full-fledged statement: five tracks that move between woozy psychedelia, nervy pop bursts, and stripped-back storytelling. It’s restless, wry, sometimes even a little chaotic — but in that chaos comes something rare: honesty.

Slipstream walks the same beautiful line Tame Impala forged on Currents: indie-savvy music that won’t fracture a pop-leaning audience’s focus. There’s veteran-level songwriting here, with enough diversity to suggest Chuck has a killer LP in him. And because he produces, plays, and mixes all of his own work, that sophistication carries through every corner of the record.

Lyrically, he’s sharp, self-aware, and unafraid to filter existential musings through humour and late-night psychedelia. But this isn’t a record that plays safe. You can hear the trial-and-error baked into it — the sound of someone pulling apart their process and gluing it back together in odd shapes. Even at its heaviest moments, Chuck undercuts with a wink (just wait until you hit that “stupid” keyboard solo on ‘M.A.D’).

Slipstream isn’t just another EP — it’s a window into an artist mid-evolution, willing to share not just the polished edges but the process itself. Across these five tracks you hear the jokes, the doubts, the accidents that stuck, and the flashes of brilliance. In doing so, Chuck Sics has made something alive, unpredictable, and completely his own. Watch this cat closely — he’s about to become something special.

Track by Track — by Chuck Sics

‘Redo’

Out of all the songs on the record, this song has been around the longest. Because of that, it felt like a good song to kick things off with. It was my first attempt at making a “psych-rock” song. At the time I was fascinated with juxtaposing tight, compact rhythm section moments with blissed out, spacey psych moments - creating these little explosions of sound. I was also experimenting with trying to write poppier songs, and this song was one of the first songs I wrote that felt like it had that element to it. I dunno, you be the judge.

‘M.A.D’

This one felt different for me when I made it. I was used to making songs that were pretty slow, with multiple chord progressions and longer melodies. But this one was like a burst of energy. The basic loop felt like it could go on forever and I wouldn’t get bored, and with that limitation on the instrumental I think the lyrics really got a chance to shine more. I also feel like there’s a heap of catchy riffs in there, and it’s cool to hear them come in and out as they please. The keyboard solo was supposed to be a temporary place-holder - I was gonna get an actual keys player to record an actual keys solo. I played it on a two-octave midi keyboard, pressing the ‘octave up/down’ buttons to get more range. It sounds ridiculous, but after a while of listening to the demo version, I fell in love with how stupid it sounded. It ended up really capturing the anxiety and humour of the song, so I had to keep it. Humour is an important part of music for me, so I like to leave stuff like that in.

‘Slipstream’

This song was not supposed to be on the record. I had never made a demo of it. My label thought the EP could use another track, so I showed them the guitar riff to this song and they were like “do that one”. I was pretty nervous to make this one - the chords, melody, and structure were there but the arrangement was a mystery. I had to figure it out on the fly. Now I can’t imagine the record without this song, I think it really needed to be there. Out of all of them it’s certainly the poppiest, but in many ways it's the weirdest too - and I love that it has that dichotomy. The bar phrasing and chords get a little wacky. I love good rhythm guitar, and this song is some of my favourite work in that department. I did really shoot myself in the foot for the live performances though, because it is very difficult to play while singing. The bass riff also really annoys my bass player. This song is actually a little annoying overall for the band. Woops. I’m glad it’s on the EP - it felt like shining a new light on the whole thing. And obviously the EP is named after it now. How serendipitous.

‘I’ve Been Thinking’

This was the first one I finished producing/mixing for this record, and it was the first time I discovered the “sound” of the record. It was the most difficult by far, because it was the first. I made a sample instrument out of my drummer’s drum kit, I was still learning how to mix - I was searching for a sound and it took me a while to get there. The rest of the EP stands on the shoulders of this song - it provided the framework and limitations for me to work within. Annoyingly, it might be the best sounding track on there purely because every sound in it was made specifically for this song. This was also the first true “pop” song I ever wrote, at least that’s my perception of it. Three minutes and thirty seconds long, catchy chorus hook, forgettable bridge (jokes, that’s the best part of the song), etc. Like “Slipstream”, I had a hard time putting this song together, but I’m glad I did. With this song came the confidence to continue making more music, so I am very grateful for it.

‘Alone On A Plane’

This is my favourite song on the EP by half a mile. I have my moments with the others, but this one hits my heart the most. Double stoked because it turned out exactly as I imagined it would, which never happens. Also, the lyrics are about a dream I had where I was trapped “alone on a plane” that crashed, and was now at the bottom of the ocean slowly filling up with water. This is one of those songs where If I talk about how it came together it sounds like cliche BS. That’s why I like it so much. I just think it’s potent. And I think it’s well-written. If I was remembered for anything by anyone I think I would like it to be this song. Maybe.