Celebrate Slow Joy's Debut Album Release at Spinster Records in Oak Cliff

Esteban Flores has released his debut album, A Joy So Slow at Times I Don’t Think It’s Coming, out today via Mick Music.

Flores, the creative mind behind Slow Joy and our Best New Band of 2024, is influenced by grunge, emo and shoegaze. The Dallas-based, New Mexican-born Chicano artist is inspired by alt-rock icons like Nirvana and Modest Mouse while also taking in the shape-shifting hip-hop Tyler, the Creator has made in his 30s. “What if you had this punk, hip-hoppy sound over grungy, old-school rock tunes?” Flore says in a press release. That was the baseline he was creating from when he made this album. 

“A Joy So Slow at Times I Don’t Think It’s Coming is my first album in my entire life,” Flores says. “It’s a celebration of the complexities of life, drawing from all the colors of emotion. From ecstatic to disparaging, from lighthearted to dark, the album is everything I wanted my debut to be. It’s meant to be listened to from start to finish and take you on a journey through the stories of life, love and grief.”

One of the most affectionate moments on the album is “Te Amo.” The song begins with a voice memo from his grandmother teaching him how to say “te amo” in Spanish or “I love you” properly. It then transforms into a mosh pit rager that’ll get you jumping around and screaming the hook.

Flores has been teasing the album with previously released singles “Gruesome,” “Wound” and “Here for You,” building off his EPs that explored different spectrums of quiet-loud intensity. The album was produced by Mike Sapone (Oso Oso, The Front Bottoms) and recorded at Ghost Hit Recording in Springfield, Massachusetts, and Sonic Ranch in El Paso.

In his artwork and music videos, he features two masked characters—the Bull and the Sugar Skull—who embody chaos and grief. As more visuals show the themes behind the songs, you can probably expect these characters to have a backstory. We’re sure Flores already has a cool narrative in mind.

Later tonight, starting at 8 p.m., Slow Joy is throwing an album release party at Spinster Records. There will be album-inspired tattoos by BabyGraveYard Ink, vinyl, exclusive merch, DJ Sets and an acoustic show by Slow Joy. You can RSVP to the pop-up event here.

You can also stream A Joy So Slow at Times I Don’t Think It’s Coming here.