10 Slip – Tense Lip

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · March 25, 2025

10 Slip is a three piece band from Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. They play a blend of fuzzed out rocking grooves dialed in with the heavy blues, and some interesting progressive movements. They consist of Cameron Walker on drums, Gregor MacDougall on bass and vocals, and Brandon Hoban on guitar and vocals. The band put out a five song demo in 2023 called Blackbeer’d. They most recently released their 2025 debut album entitled Tense Lip, which came out on February 7th 2025. The album contains eight tracks in forty four minutes.

I was very surprised with how fantastic this album is. 10 Slip really diversify their sound as the songs play out and they really explore some very cool and expansive musical territory. I love when bands get super creative and utilize their talents to make a very deep and interesting record. Tense Lip has achieved this and it is a really captivating album filled with great twists and turns of sonic innovation.

The opening track “Dead Ain’t Gonna Cry” has a bluesy doom sound that attributes excellent vocals that really drives the song. The chorus is especially inviting with the catchy assemblage of the line “woe!yeah!- dead ain’t gonna cry”. It’s magnificent and draws you right in! The emotive blues guitar leads are exceptional also. “Cult” kicks in next and induces a nice head bobbing reaction with the groove-riden first riff. The vocals lure you in again and the rocking beats and rhythms are right on point. I hear a seventies vibe with the swagger of the riffs and the overall execution of the song.

Once the third track hits, the 10 Slip sound starts to break off into more imaginative territory. Titled “10 Split”, the song starts off with a slow and bluesy tone with the clean guitars taking form. The mellow vocals accompany the leisurely start and the band has an unrushed flow to the track. They incorporate illuminating swinging blues textures and then start to pick up the tempo. The song transitions with a very cool bass break and proceeds to jam nicely with the drums and displaying some fun and quirky vocals to the mix. The guitars join in and the sound exhibits a progressive tilt mixed with fuzz and a grunge like rhythm. The song then shifts back to the beginning riff with such finesse. “The Wall” is another exploratory experience in different sounds and styles that are warped together perfectly. Beginning with the bass guitar, the song has a new wave tempo beat with flourishing clean guitars. The nearly nine minute track serves up some syncopated rocking goodness with excellent drizzles of lead guitars, some heavy fuzz, and dynamic flowing of stupendous rhythms. Right at the 6:15 mark, the bass and some drum clicks take the lead with some pronounced and hypnotic vocals. The matched singing and exuberant bass tones are met nicely with a crash pounding and waves of heavy riffage. The song is composed elegantly with all its daring yet powerful movements. It works exceptionally well and 10 Slip are taking chances and executing it perfectly.

“Shallow Waters” begins very mellow with clean guitar and vocals. The heavy drums and bass accent the track as the lush vocals and guitar carries on a bit, until the distortion kicks in. It’s an another great cut despite being just over three minutes long. “Mirrors” is also a short rocker just under three minutes. It has a crunchy doom rhythm that up-tempos into a nice chugging metal riff, with some double bass drumming too. The track breaks off into some psychotic-psych bass playing and guitar leads with subtle beat changes. The song then flows into some nice tremolo picking, giving it an eerie effect with its glorious progy finale. The next track “Hallowed Ground” begins with a soothing bass line that commences the song with nice airy guitars and simple yet elegant percussion. The vocals are melodic in their striking delivery and shift into some sermonized styling too. The song has a hypnotic flow and reaches a level of punk-a-fied groove with the bass extending a funk driven charge to the end of the track.

10 Slip are very talented musicians. Brandon Hoban has a great range of guitar skills with his rocking and fuzzed out rhythms, melodic passages, and fantastic scorching and bluesy leads. Drummer Cameron Walker is super tight and dynamic with a rock solid foundation of intricate and simple percussion, based on any given segment of a song. Finally, Gregor MacDougall is a phenom on the bass. He has so much heavy groove and dazzling movement that the bass is sometimes a lead instrument on a good number of these tracks. The three play exceptionally well together and each knows where to shine and where to hold back. They absolutely understand what works best for each individual song. The vocals are primarily from Hoban with backing from MacDougall, and are also a highlight for all of these songs.

The final score on Tense Lip is the colossal, nine plus minute closer, “Spore”. This is a devastating and powerful song that pulls the band’s talents and displays them in full effect. The Grand Funk sound and style bass playing are phenomenal on this song! The band are in full jamming mode with this one, with electrifying guitar leads and pristine soloing and the crazy bombastic drumming throughout this track. 10 Slip have delivered an absolute gem and an unbelievable debut album with Tense Lip. There is so much musical gymnastics taking place all over this recording that it requires multiple listens to grasp the brilliance in these songs. I am once again in complete awe with the number of totally crushing debut releases that keep coming out this year. Tense Lip is definitely one to listen to repeatedly because 10 Slip will shock you with the amount of engaging music and sounds they execute in forty four minutes time.