The Slackers CD Review
The Slackers
Peculiar
(Hellcat)
Admittedly, we’re suckers for album titles that fit, be they unintentional (Ashlee Simpson’s Who I Am) or spot-on (this here Slackers album).
Piecing together one of the more bizarre recording processes you’ll find, Peculiar is built on rhythm tracks from a live performance in Holland with studio overdubs adding horns and vocals in Los Angeles. The kneejerk reaction is, “If you need to go through all of that, your band has bigger problems than you know.” But what these NYC ska veterans did further was de-ska-ing the songs they wrote. Yes, particularly on “Propaganda,” there are undeniable links to rocksteady, as you’d find on just about any Slackers album. Peculiar, however, is lighter, less formulaic, and almost homespun. Singer Vic Ruggiero might have tracked himself in a brick-and-mortar studio, but his mind was in the Netherlands when he did it. And it made all the difference.
— Kevin Keegan
