Slick Sixty - Nibs And Nabs

There are a lot of groups out there combining live instrumentation sounds with electronic music, but the problem with most of them is that one or the other element feels so tagged onto the other that it becomes a challenge to listen to. In worst case scenarios, you have guitars and other organic instrumental parts that feel totally out-of-place against electronic beats because they just don't fit the style, and on the other side, you have a group like Red Snapper who manages to combine the two forms in the smoothest of ways.

In regards to what I'm talking about above, Slick Sixty is definitely another group who can be added to the category of artists who have managed to combine the two sounds into something quite funky and listenable. They've managed to pull off an electronic album with big fat slow beats, as well as add elements of traditional music like jamming guitars and horns that smooth right into the mix instead of feeling like they've been pasted in over the top of it. Taking a more laid-back groove than aforementioned Red Snapper, Nibs And Nabs is one of those albums that sounds super-cool in execution. Like if you were a movie character and had to choose your own theme music, you'd find several songs worth the honor here.

The disc starts out with laid-back groove and upright bass sounds of "Hilary, Last of the Pool Sharks." Not only does it glide along with a smooth beat and some nicely timed scratches, but there's a nice (but not in a heavy-metal way) guitar riff chunking out through the guts of the song. It's like a big-beat track in semi-relax mode (slower beats, but still has the sound). From there, the disc goes into the squiggly beat and intertwining horns and guitars of "Recliner Classic" before dropping off into another relaxing track called "Someone Else's Square." Not only do they play an organ and some light guitar work off one another, but they even manage to sneak in the sounds of a harmonica without making it sound cheesy or forced.

From there, the album goes into the frantic scratching (and more thick guitars) of "The Wrestler" to the semi-goofy track called "God's Own Dustmen." With all kinds of rising electronic blurps and a nice little guitar strum, the song is a goofy sing-along that hits right at the midpoint of the album and gives an extra boost of fun to the proceedings. After the vocodored "Dun Deal" and the Ennio Morricone western soundtrack influenced "Margo's B & B," the disc takes off with the fastest beat on the album (which still isn't super-fast) with "Mungo, Return of the Master Blaster."

Basically, it's a great album of midtempo grooves that places the emphasis on lightheartedness and a great combination of electronics and standard instruments. It may not be fast enough for dancing most of the time, but it does provide enough beats and butta to make you want to shake your thing.

Rating: 7.5

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