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THE SLANTS, LICKITY, GEJIUS (Berbatis Pan, 10 SW 3rd) We get it. The Slants are Asian. The Portland sextet has a boastful bio which constantly mentions it, all of their press seems to hinge solely on that fact, and the band plays up every possible stereotype by booking slots at anime expos and holding a contest for an adorable pink Hello Kitty guitar. Much like a white rapper with confidence issues, the Slants constant reminders of their ethnicity seem forced, if not a little desperate. Much like any white kid can rock the mic with the best of them, the concept of a few Asian kids playing keyboard rock isnt exactly mind-blowing, nor does the experience lead to, as their bio puts it, melting peoples faces off with Chinatown Dance Rock. Instead, the Slants offer another take on the sterile dance rock made popular by Depeche Mode, The Faint, and countless others who clutter the stage with an abundance of keyboards and black clothing. While Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts (OMG! Slanted eyes, because, you know, they are totally Asian!) was released last September, tonight is another CD release, this time celebrating national distribution for the album.
Despite the faux threat on my life, I stand by that review. Their record is fine, it’s just one of many mediocre offerings of non-offensive retro dance music. Nothing more. Nothing less.
Listen for yourself…
MP3:
The Slants - Capture Me Burning
I ain’t afraid of no Yakuza.
Caraeff, you wouldn't know good music if it melted your face off! I've got a novel idea: How about you review a band based on the way they sound rather than the color of their skin...or the number of keyboards they use???? Is that the best you've got? Congrats on making yourself look like a racist asshat!
aren't you supposed to be a MUSIC reviewer? nice job on not even listening to the album and just being a racist jackass. really, mad props there.
Maybe if you actually wrote more about their music than their ethnicities, you'd be seen as credible rather than a pretentious racist ass.
It isn't stereotypical for a band to speak about their personal experiences in getting beat up and having rocks thrown at them as kids for being "chinks" and "gooks."
And maybe if you actually saw them live, you'd see that the experience is what all the hype in town about them saying: face melting.