Slacks! – Slacks!
Infernal Racket Records / Translation Loss – IRR10-2 / TL3 – 2003
By Jason Jordan
I’m cognizant of the fact that
Slacks! is three years old by now. Another fact for the fact-lovers: I found this in the used section of a local music store, and couldn’t pass it up due to its ties to Translation Loss. But you’ll find no
Dysrhythmia,
Mouth of the Architect, or
Rosetta here, as
Slacks! play a style all their own, which varies radically from their peers’. There are a wealth of contributors and instruments on the debut, and the songwriting is exemplary in just about every way imaginable.
More often than not,
Slacks! conjure a rural setting – perhaps a fishin’ hole or a similar locale – with the slightest of ease. My absolute favorite songs are those that feature banjo above all else, radiating a real down-home country feeling that’s conspicuously absent from my record collection. Unlike the other compositions, “Coronado 2” has a palpable Latin vibe heightened by flamenco-esque strumming, background vocals, and tasteful saxophone interjections. Since it’s the anomaly on
Slacks!, it follows that there’s not another song quite like it. As I implied earlier, however, the importance of the banjo is undeniable. “When I Was Your Man,” “Solid Gold,” and “With the What Now?” utilize it to its fullest extent, and in effect, create several nod-worthy passages. Honestly, these shindigs are easier to like than free candy. At the same time, though, I must also address my miniscule distaste for the excursions with full-on vocals such as “No Goodbyes” and “Vision”; I’m simply not a fan of either one.
So overall,
Slacks! are many things, but on this particular outing they’re nothing more than good songwriters, who pepper their manifestations with a smorgasbord of different instruments. Needless to say, the culmination is appetizing.
Slacks! isn’t their latest, as Translation Loss recently let loose
Terrestrial – an album I’ll definitely try to obtain. As for now, though, I’ll just don my overalls and straw hat (a wheat stalk in my mouth, of course), and head across the bridge to Kentucky. With the state’s affinity for bluegrass and banjo-laden music in general,
Slacks! should fit right in.
8/10
Official Slacks! Website
Official Infernal Racket Records Website
Official Translation Loss Website
