Mastering the task of imperfection is an art. Notably few
\nmusicians have made worthwhile careers out of repeatedly turning a
\nmissed guitar or vocal note into the remembering trait of a song.
\nFor me, the two most successful names in navigating routes on the
\nroad unconventionally traveled are Neil Young and Bob Dylan,
\nartists that are both coincidentally inductees in the Rock and Roll
\nHall of Fame.<\/p>\n
So naturally, I’m prepared to talk about another artist with
\nsimilarly unorthodox potential in vocalist\/guitarist Rick Sims and
\nhis Chicago based rock quartet, the Gaza Strippers — as evidenced
\nby the band’s first full length release,
\nLaced Candy<\/i>.<\/p>\n
By all accounts, this album would be a total train wreck if it
\nweren’t for the whiny vocals of Sims mixing remarkably well with
\nthe overly liberated guitar riffing and wailing found on the album.
\nIt’s the kind of dubious — no wait, I mean reckless recording
\nformula that makes me ever grateful that low budget indie record
\nlabels exist and that producers like Mutt Lange and similar
\nperfectionists had their cheek proverbially turned while this album
\nwas recorded.<\/p>\n
This is Rick Sims’ band — and his legacy, if you want to call
\nit that, had previously been defined in successfully guiding the
\nobnoxious punk band, the Didjits, into one of the more visible
\nbands on the scene. That band’s notable stamp of inspirational
\napproval came in the form of the Offspring covering “Killboy
\nPowerhead” on their breakthrough album
\nSmash<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Make no mistake though; the Gaza Strippers were not to become an
\nobvious punk reincarnation of the Didjits.
\nLaced Candy<\/i> is a throwback rock album complete with gritty
\nrecording production, venturous guitar lead breaks, and the gnawing
\nbrilliance of Sims audacious lyrical compositions resonating
\nthroughout the album.<\/p>\n
“Automat” makes brash references at sin as Sims teases the Holy
\nFather by wittily betting his “sweet ass that he’d do it again.”
\nSims finds this keen groove in matching words throughout
\nLaced Candy<\/i> and never seems to run short of such shrewd
\nideas. Match the wordsmith with his bratty vocal delivery and this
\nrecording instantly becomes a listen that is compelling enough to
\ncause the listener to sing along to the lyrics found in the CD
\njacket.<\/p>\n
The jewel found in
\nLaced Candy<\/i> is with the track “Throttle Bottom.” Axl Rose
\nhad Slash’s guitar solo to turn “Sweet Child O’ Mine” into an
\ninstant classic. In the case of “Throttle Bottom,” Sims benefits
\nmightily by giving lead guitarist Mike Hodgkiss such a long rope to
\nperform his two solos. As adventuresome as the solo’s are, they
\nshift through the proverbial gearbox with amazing ease.<\/p>\n
Additionally, the fact that the Gaza Strippers cover the
\nmesmerizing Love and Rockets track, “Yin and Yang (The Flower Pot
\nMan)” gives credence to the fact that
\nLaced Candy<\/i> is intent on being an upbeat effort. The song is
\nwide open and gives each member the space to shine. It’s easily the
\nmost visible platform for drummer, Cory Stateler and bassist,
\nDarren Hooper to create a lasting beat.<\/p>\n
In the end,
\nLaced Candy<\/i>, should easily be classified as one of the more
\nfun rock albums to listen to. Period. This album oozes charisma and
\ntestosterone in many ways that Young and Dylan never achieved due
\nto the fact that their careers were spent pushing political
\ncommentary. As such, Sims doesn’t rely on allowing his personality
\nto “suck like a drain.” He’d rather “make a raft and drift out to
\nsea” to “get the best tan that you’ve ever seen.”<\/p>\n
If you were to consider doing such a thing yourself,
\nLaced Candy<\/i> will be one of the albums you want to have on
\nyou should you luckily get stranded on that deserted island.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":27,"featured_media":26712,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[7027],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-37969","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-gaza-strippers","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/27"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=37969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/37969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26712"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=37969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=37969"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=37969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}