Trivia

• The album's title and cover pay homage to Shirley “Cha Cha” Muldowney, a pioneering drag racer who inspired Pirner during his youth. “When I was a kid, I loved drag racing,” he says. “And she was the first woman of drag race. It meant a lot to me that she was willing to stand up against all these men in racing. My manager called her up, and she gave us her blessing, which means a whole lot to me because she was a childhood hero.”
• The genesis of the album’s title came while mixing the album at Electric Lady Studios in New York City. Dave came across a placard at a stationary store next door with the phrase “Slowly but Surely” that he thought resembled an album cover. “It was like a silk screen,” Pirner said. “But, of course, it was spelled s-u-r-e-l-y, and my brain just immediately went to the name Shirley. And I thought of Shirley Temple, and I was like, ‘No, no, that’s not right.’ And then I thought of Shirley Muldowney, and I went, ‘That’s it.’”
• Was available on September 18th, 2024 as an early download if preordered from Soul Asylum's Blue Élan Record label website.
• The album was offically announced on July 17th, 2024 along with a download of Trial By Fire if signed up for the band's official mailing list.
• The album's title was teased in mid May of 2024 when the aptly named summer tour The Slowly But Shirley Tour (with The Juliana Hatfield Three) was announced.
• The album returns Steve Jordan as producer, who also produced Soul Asylum's 1990 album And the Horse They Rode In On.
• Like the band's earlier work, most of Slowly But Shirley's songs were recorded in one take as opposed to 1992's Grave Dancers Union (and beyond), to give it a more live and raw sound.
• 4 of the songs on the album date back up to 20 years, including Freak Accident.

Singles

1. High Road
2. Freak Accident

Images

Back Cover

CD Label

Credits