Cheater Slicks

Forgive Thee (In the Red)
by Jon Sarre

Don’t take this too literally, but I’m peggin’ this, the Cheater Slicks’ fifth album, their “art record.” Yeah, ya don’t gotta tell me that the brothers Shannon (Tom and David, guitars) and pal Dana Hatch (drums), three stoner/greaser thug types, ain’t exactly the type of people to up an’ act like a bunch a pigfriggin’ Bob Fripps. I mean, live, they pound the stage flat in a kinda nonchalant nod mode, not really noticin’ the aural damage they cause, like they think tinnitus is some kinda natural occurrence, but I’m strayin’ here…

Back to the record, Forgive Thee is a two-CD grab bag of warped rock’n’roll stylin’s, not all of it bein’ the bumpy power grind of their live set or the highlights of past releases (though ya got that on “My Friends” and “Retribution”). The band changes gears here quite a bit, from the kinda obvious thrashblues send up (“This Ain’t For You”) and sounds-like-an-out-take-from-the-Jon-Spencer-produced-Don’t Like You (“Used Illusions,” with trombone courtesy of ex-Gories/Blacktop frontman Mick Collins), to a likely chart-topper anthem (if the singer didn’t sound like he was, a) drunk and b) yodeling) (“Dignity and Grace”) and some weird cover songs (Lucifer’s “Hypnosis” and the New York Dolls’ “Lonely Planet Boy” for two).

Therein lies the art, I suppose. Sure, it ain’t some grand concept thing ’bout chess or underpaid contract workers in union shops, but goddamn it, the Cheater Slicks cryin’ in their beer as they lope through a power ballad (“You’ll Be Glad When I’m Gone”) that ain’t gonna make sense to either creeps in pickups who dig George Strait or to creeps in pickups who dig the Crüe, is as much art as any sensible person should wanna stand. Double that twice on “Arm Yourself,” which sounds like the MC5 on a speedball and makes me start to wonder as the Cheater Slicks press the theme, “What’s goin’ down?” (oops, there I go again, confusing “art” with “paranoia inducer”).

Luckily, art is subjective and beauty lies in the eye, which doesn’t mean you’ll see Forgive Thee as pretty or anything, but good rock’n’roll records are usually uglier than shit. This is probably the best record you haven’t heard about this year. Don’t let it stay that way…