By RUSSELL BAILLIE
(Herald rating: * * * * )
There's a refreshing directness, aggressive streak, and tunefulness to this debut album by Slim, the Christchurch rock quartet whose frontman Aaron Hogg did his time as guitarist in 90s grunge-metallers Pumpkinhead.
Clocking in at under 35 minutes long with its 10 songs, Slim
deliver a direct blend of hard-riffed swagger and melodic finesse. That's immediately apparent from the one-two punch of opener Real World and Money's Gone - songs showing Slim know their way around a big bolshie chorus.
Those tracks and the likes of Bullet In My Hand(which was originally recorded on an EP a few years back) suggests they're another band not far from the Shihad/Weta axis - an outfit happy to pick and choose between punk (Low, Rise), New Wave jaggedness (Crumbling) and the hard stuff to deliver something honestly rock 'n' roll.
Label: Wildside
