Rating: ***
Christopher Sluka is a wild dude. He's an avant-garde pop artist residing in San Diego, CA and making interesting, thought-provoking, art rock is kinda his niche.
I reviewed an album he put out a few years back titled "Colorful Radiation" and to be honest, I was pretty into it. What it lacked in traditional listenability, it made up for in interesting sounds and clever lyrical content. So I was excited to see a new single and music video "VIP" in my inbox off of his latest record called "Ready to Connect".
I'm going to listen to it as I sip a Merlot on a beautiful California evening. It's only February but by god, it feels like May. I'll report back after the jump.
Watch the music video for "VIP" on Youtube below:
Not a lot of surprises here. Sluka isn't ever going to shoot for the top of the pop charts with his stuff, so the simple riff and droning repetitive vocals are just this dude getting his point across how he does it. It's fine, and I dig his singing voice in a Nick Cave/Leonard Cohen kinda way. He's not Mariah Carey, but that's kinda the point I think. Lyrcially, it's gonna make you think, rift with metaphorical content. I wish it was a little catchier, but I think that's always how I end up feeling after I listen to a new Sluka track. It's just not what he does. That said, I did find myself singing the chrous to myself hours after I finished my first 2 listens so that has to account for something.
I think fans of Sluka's stuff are gonna find more than enough on "VIP" to whet their appetite. I look forward to checking out the full-length LP at some point. Might even review it. In the meantime, give this one a whirl. I recommend it for most.