Slurp the World Tastes the Start of a New Era with Upcoming Debut

Rylie Riddle entered stage left to prepare for Slurp the World: Live at Empire Control Room and Garage. She set down a wooden children’s toy, the placeholder of the pedals for her tie-dye, orange-red, Rickenbacker bass. Her bright red pants accentuated her fiery lipstick, contrasting off the blue strands in her hair.  

Behind Riddle, Jackson C. Cox, lead guitarist, entered in his green grandma sweater, followed by Jackson T. Cox carrying a retro microphone and his Epiphone guitar, Conner Petru sat at the drums in a floral button-up. The three wore glasses that didn’t survive past the third song — they simply rocked too hard. 

Slurp the World presented an illusion of being an indie-rock, soft-core band with fashion at the start of the 32-minute set, and left confirming Slurp the World is nothing like before. Maybe because they played mostly new songs off their upcoming debut, or more importantly, they presented their massive sonic transition, making their best qualities better, and deepening their dive into the complexities of the world. 

The moment T. Cox started singing on the crisp Friday evening of Nov. 8, the room electrified. The disco ball shined brighter, and the “Slurp the World” graphics behind the band pulsed more vibrantly. His passionate, screamo-esque voice had the perfect strain and clarity that carried an authentic rock-feeling throughout their new songs. The voice heard in previous indie tracks like “Downer Ending” with its somber tone and sweet vocals is the same as the rich, loud vocals in songs like “Clown Shoes.”

Powerful basslines struck ears, shirts (and sweaters) came off, sweat dripped to the floor. Riddle and C. Cox leaned back-to-back, and T. Cox slammed his blue Gretsch guitar against Petru’s cymbal. They proved they are more than an indie band with their previous tracks like “English Tea” and “Your Eyes.” At their core, they’re just four friends having a great time. 

“We started out as a friend group,” said Riddle, explaining how Slurp the World’s bond sets them up for prolonged success. “We're gonna have fun and we'd be hanging out even if we weren't playing music. That's another element I feel could set us apart because we all love each other.”

Although Riddle and C. Cox’s friendship predates high school, the four united during their time at the University of Texas. In 2022, the idea of Slurp the World started to unfold.  

“We used to take walks because it was COVID, and we were trying to come up with spins and turns on classic idioms and phrases,” explained Riddle. “We were like, ‘Ah, the world is your oyster. What are you gonna do? You gotta slurp the world.’ It's like Carpe Diem, but a little more avant garde and sophisticated.”

With a tailor-made band name set, Riddle and C. Cox picked up their respective bass and guitar to learn the craft of musicianship alongside their already experienced peers, T. Cox and Petru. Inspired by My Chemical Romance, Arctic Monkeys and The Beatles, they built their own unique sound. Now, after just two years, they’ve seen their craft evolve with their album releasing next year.

“I feel like we've grown a lot,” Riddle said, “Writing at first, was a lot of, ‘how can we make this sound good with pretty much half our band being incredibly new to music.’ That meant a lot of very simple, very basic chords. We took what we liked from the initial, simple sounds and tried to build on that and make it more complicated.” 

Playing live almost every week for the last two years, Riddle feels they have expanded their skills across the board.

“We've come into ourselves and as stage performers as well. We're not just a studio band, the live is just as much a part of that.” Riddle said. “Our live playing sort of influenced the songs we’re writing. We found those more indie sounding songs harder to play live. I think the new stuff and the set we play right now has been all about honing it into something we all like and making it fun, loud and crazy.”

The creation of the debut marks a new era.

“This album is sort of a maturing for us,” C. Cox said. “We’ve found our feet a little bit and carved out a sound we can explore.” 

What started off as a fun idea for friends evolved into a tangible career the four devote themselves to. C. Cox recently rejected a job offer with the band in mind. Even following graduation for Riddle and both Cox’s, their priorities stay with the band.

“We have the entire rest of our lives to work and go back to school,” Riddle said. “We don’t have the entire rest of our lives to be in a band in Austin.” 

The band’s punk-esque message revolves around youth – embracing it and making the most of it, even in uncertain times regarding politics, struggles with inclusion and overall, just growing up. They portray messages to their fans through social media, stage presence and lyrics in songs like “The Roses,” “Plastic Leaf” and “Pool Rudd” (unreleased).

“I think when you investigate the lyrics of our songs, you’ll find most of them are about struggles with adolescence and growing up,” C. Cox said. “It’s a difficult thing for a lot of people and for us.”

Slurp the World allows them to harness their declarations, and themselves.

“It’s an identity, I feel like I’ve found myself again,” Riddle said. “The bassist label allowed me to start being the person I always wanted to be.” 

With their debut and significant personal and instrumental growth, Slurp the World is ready—ready to share their music, unite others, and validate the chaos and confusion of youth. They are ready to get serious. 

“We’re not joking around anymore,” T. Cox said. “We’re doing it for real. We’re really trying our best to take advantage of this opportunity and see it out in its fullest.”

Live at Empire Control Room and Garage Setlist: 

Untitled (Unreleased)

Plastic Leaf (Unreleased)

Single and Sober (Unreleased)

Untitled (Unreleased)

Clown Shoes (Unreleased) 

Planned obsolescence / Helter Skelter mashup