Singer-songwriter Esteban Flores — better known as Slow Joy — is ready to pull the wraps off his full-length debut album.
A Joy So Slow At Times I Don’t Think It’s Coming will arrive on May 16 via the indie label Mick Music. The Dallas-based and New Mexico-born Flores recorded the album with producer Mike Sapone in Springfield, Mass. and El Paso.
Alongside the announcement of the LP’s impending release, Flores dropped the lead single, “Gruesome,” which soars on a sparkling guitar figure, double-tracked vocals and its rabbit-punch drums. You can hear the tune via the Alex Farias, Lexi Sanchez and Nicodemo Sanchez-directed video below.
Although Flores wrote the bulk of the album’s 13 songs himself, he also collaborated with Josh Varnadore, Zach DeGaetano and Jordan Witzigreuter . He also pulled inspiration from his first US tour last year.
Slow Joy has tour dates booked through mid-April, and will hit the road in support of Coming later this year, although those shows have yet to be announced.
When KXT spoke with Flores last year, ahead of the release of his EP Mi Amigo Slow Joy, he spoke about what it meant to work a producer like Sapone.
“That was a really impactful moment for me,” Flores said. “Mike made record that I, to this day, carry with me as something that’s important to me, and to have someone of that caliber [collaborating with me] really pushed me to write better, but also made me feel the freedom to experiment and have a good time.”
Flores played a hometown gig at Club Dada in February as part of the inaugural Jambaloo festival. Beyond the album release and to-be-announced tour dates, Slow Joy will continue to find his happiness in expressing himself through his art.
“I never want to slow down — like, I make music, so I gotta make music,” Flores told KXT last year.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social).Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
