Sleazy Way Out – Here Comes Trouble album review
Released 4th Feb via Sliptrick Records, Canada’s SLEAZY WAY OUT’s second album ‘Here Comes Trouble’ comes almost 5 years to the date after their debut ‘Satisfy Me’. The band formed in 2011 after a conversation outside a club and have since opened for LA Guns and John Corabi.
The opening track NOT GONNA BE THERE has a strong intro and riffs that seep into my head but the vocal could and should be a lot crisper and clearer; the tortured, punkish vocal gets lost in the music. Gang vocals, as I’m about to learn, feature heavily in their sound in the chorus and there is a lovely guitar solo at 2 and a half minutes, and the lead vocal is strongest in the last 30 seconds.
TROUBLE has a deep and growling beat and crunchy guitar overlaying the acerbic vocals, again somewhat subsumed in the music, with a catchy chorus and some very strong guitars rip the track open. While GOIN’ DOWN has a clearer vocal and is a chugging belter with a stunning guitar section – a drink and mischief song if ever I heard one!
The vocals switch up between strained and scratchy and a higher pitch; the higher vocal is much clearer and more melodic which I love. Adding a growl in BITCHIN’ HONEY doesn’t work for me but the song has a pounding beat and funky guitars.
RAISE ‘EM UP starts with an excellent blend of drums and guitar, adding a rich texture, and the rabble rousing style is bound to be a live crowd pleaser. And I now love this guitarist – wow.
Gang vocals feature a lot and HERE COMES THE NIGHT is no exception, a pervasive chorus and stellar fingerwork brings this track to life but it never quite gets off the ground. Similarly, HELL OR HIGH WATER doesn’t take my full attention and I find myself distracted. SATISFACTION frankly leaves me unsatisfied, the vocal clearer to the ear but so strained it makes me wince involuntarily. The guitar almost saves it but not quite, 2 plays is enough for me.
THE PERFECT CRIME is my song of the album, a repetitive riff, piercing vocals and expansive drum beat, this is sleazy as hell and the riffs are filthy. The track has the best production on the album and the vocals take the forefront joined by that killer guitarist but for once not overshadowed.
The album goes downhill again for me now, much of the same and nothing that burns my face. TAKE IT OFF launches straight in like an unfinished conversation and the gang vocals are at their most melodic but the driving beat doesn’t save it for me. GOT ME RUNNING is fun and catchy and lends itself to a stiff drink, while the closing track WASTE OF TIME may cause debauchery but remains some talented musicians with a vocalist in the background.
Whilst I wouldn’t compare them, I can hear influences ranging from Motley Crue and Poison to Led Zep. For me the main reason I don’t love this album, despite a love of Sleaze, is a disconnect between the music and the vocals, paired with the fact it sounds like it’s been recorded mostly underground. The instruments drown out much of the vocals and it sounds unpolished and raw, almost like a live album.
Overall rating: 2/5
Highlights: Goin’ Down, Raise ‘Em Up, The Perfect Crime
‘Here Comes Trouble’ is out now via SLIPTRICK RECORDS
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