Cheater Slicks

Don’t Like You (In The Red)
by Joshua Brown

It took me five years of living in Boston to finally realize they’re a local band. They keep a low profile around here, possibly because they’re well aware of what a black hole this music scene can be (you can get in but good luck getting out, sucker!). NY scenester hero Jon Spencer (of Blues Explosion and Pussy Galore) appears on the tune “Sensitive Side” with a wise and lazy cool-cat voice. He couldn’t have put it more succinctly when he said, “Boston, Massachusetts. Kind of an uptight place for my brothers the Cheater Slicks.” It’s brazen statements such as this that have the power to extract a few heads from their rectal place of hibernation and ultimately, make a city stronger and looser at the same time. Rather than gingerly walking eggshells, the Cheater Slicks stomp their feet even harder and engage in a finger-painting party with the disturbed yolks. At times, they out-Stooge the Stooges with their metal-grinder meets spin-cycle guitars and fractured melody. The harmonica and swampy rockabilly feel reminds me of the Blues Explosion, which explains why Spencer is such a fan. The Cheater Slicks are a relatively small band who have built a strong reputation over the years and may finally be poised to do some damage.