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Album Reviews

Honestly, pop punk is one of the least creative genres in the industry. Most of the bands sound like clones of each other. The same three chord progression. Same budd-a-thump of the drums. And don't even get me started on the snotty vocals. Now, there are a few pop punk records which have weaseled their way into my heart. I don't know if the new Slick Shoes cd, "Far From Nowhere", will be one of those or not, but this is a solid release. The greatest thing about this cd, being a pop punk release, is that I can hear differences between the songs. While listening to track seven I don't feel like I'm still on the first track. I wouldn't exactly notch that up to "creativity", but they aren't being lazy in writing songs, unlike their pop punk counterparts. So often when listening to a pop punk record it feels like they write one song and just put different lyrics to it, then record it ten different times. Many of the songs feature some kind of guitar ear candy. While other pop punk bands have talented guitar players, they don't really let their ability shine. Thankfully, Slick Shoes allows the pop punk redundancy curse to be broken by letting their guitar players go mad. Not every song is graced with a solo, but there are more than enough here to have me playing my air guitar, pretending I have long hair swishing around my face. There are two main complaints I have with this album. First, the cover art has that standard Asterik Studio look to it. Reminds me of every other album cover I've seen come from them in the past year. A photo illustration with manipulated, not-quite-realistic colors. My only other complaint is that Ryan Kepke's vocals sometimes make me feel like I'm listening to a Dogwood song. However, that complaint is only featured on a handful of the songs. The songs have a brisk feel, and most of them clock in between two and three minutes. Two songs go over three minutes while only one fails to break the two minute barrier. With the hidden track, the entire cd clocks in at just over 33 minutes. Those who want more bang for their buck may want to wait to find this used somewhere before shelling out full price for it. Of course, there aren't many filler songs, either, so it's not as likely to get as redundant on repeat listens. If you hate pop punk, there won't be anything here to convince you otherwise. However, if you enjoy the genre, put aside your Relient K and your Good Charlotte and check out a band with talent.

~ The Theory

Until about a month ago, I had never heard of Orange County, California punk band Slick Shoes. It's been a while since I've actively seeked out new bands in the punk and ska genres, mostly because both genres have gone through their own specific set of problems in the past 5 years. Ska is teetering on the verge of death, despite there being still more than a few bands who know how to bring it. And punk has gone more commercial than ever in recent years, meaning record labels have pushed bands who wouldn't know what punk was if it hit them in the face (*coughgoodcharlottecough*), instead of truly talented bands who have something to say. I don't know much about Slick Shoes history, other than they were formed in 1994, they've gone through numerous lineup changes (although lead singer Ryan Kepke is the most important constant), and had released 3 albums and 1 EP before this disc, Far From Nowhere, was released in June of this year. Far From Nowhere is an excellent blend of edgy punk rock, some catchy guitar melodies, and a bit of emotive singing from Kepke. However, to lump them in as one of the new "pop-punk" bands or to call them "emo" wouldn't be doing justice to this band's talent. With songs like Darko and Carpenteria, the band shows off a very likable old school punk side that's somewhat softened by the unbelievable lyrics from Kepke, especially on the opening Darko ("Are you burning up down inside? Will you ever make it through the night? Will you ever give up this fight? You can't stop thinking of the heartache as you break down and cry"), who sings as if his life depends on it. The band is not a one trick pony though, as they tackle more melodic songs such as Once Again ("With failure chasing at my feet I will not be afraid to dream, My hope's been lost so many times I think I'm gonna lose my mind"), with features some nice guitar work from lead man David Stoltenberg, who is impressive throughout this entire record. He seems to be the glue that keeps these songs from falling apart, and of course, the fact that they're that close to falling apart is what makes this such a great punk album. Simon's Quest has perhaps the most anthemic and overtly positive message on the entire record, even though it's one of the heavier songs to be found on the disc. The chorus though is happy and shiny, which fits the lyrics ("The warmth of the sun makes me smile, I can't wait for tomorrow, A new morning, another try, another chance to make things right") to a tee. Far From Nowhere also features my favorite outro of any song in a very long time thanks to the track Down Hill. The last thirty seconds features some intense soloing by Stoltenberg before it breaks down into some heavy power chords. This little outro has more of a delightfully evil heavy metal sound than Linkin Park could ever hope to pull off. Also of note is the short jam session that is hidden at the end of track 12. This little jam is a LOT more old school Metallica than it is Sex Pistols, and it kicks a whole lot of a*s. It's been quite a while since a punk album really hit me with full force and with the whole "package" so to speak (music, production, lyrics, diversity in sound), but this album has done that. I've LIKED some albums, and really liked some others, but I LOVE this album. The songs are well put together, although there is definitely a bit of a sense of anarchy in their structure. The band isn't afraid to write a killer melody to go with their more punk leanings, and the album is diverse in terms of pace and sound. Maybe this was just the right album at the right time for me lyrically and sonically. I don't know. But for all the rock people on this site who have any sort of appreciation for punk, I give this my highest recommendation. Maybe you'll like it, maybe you won't. All I know is is I love it, and it may just be my album of the year come December. As of right now, that's where this lies. I give this my HIGHEST recommendation, five stars and a "your punk collection is incomplete without it" rating. .