A Slanted View

What do you get if you mix 5 talented Asian-American artists with some 80’s throwback disco beats and a license to rock? You get one hell of a band which has become a massive success since it’s origins in Oregon (see what I did there?) in 2006. So say hello to The Slants boys and girls, and no I’m not kidding – that’s their name.

‘The Yellow Album’ is the third full length album offering from this interesting group, who describe themselves as ‘Chinatown Dance Rock’, further adding to the tongue in cheek ethnicity references in this album and their band name; references which got them into trouble with the US Patent and Trademark office, due to claims that it was disparaging to Asians. “It was like banging our head against the wall, trying to convince someone that we were not offensive to ourselves; that the community was in overwhelming support of our band.” Despite this and other obstacles over the past 2 years such as unexpected line up changes, The Slants continued to tour regularly and quickly rose in popularity across the US.

After a brief and unusual introductory piece, we’re brought straight into ‘Con Kids’, a dance track with a hard hitting punk style energy, which knocks on the doors of so many genres yet doesn’t quite fit into any – paving the way of an album which really is in a world of it’s own. With the solid instrumental delivery in this album it would have been easy for The Slantsto simply throw in a few lyrics offhand and get away with it; but with heartfelt lyrical offerings such as ‘Adopted’ which references Aron Moxley’s own upbringing, it’s clear that this isn’t the case.

If you really want a few musical influences, think of ‘The Killers’ to start, mixed with a bit of ‘Depeche Mode’ for dinner and some ‘Talking Heads’ for dessert…But even that doesn’t do this band justice. Describing The Slants is like trying to describe each single candy in a bag of pick ‘n’ mix; it’s pointless because they’re so damn good you know you’ll be eating 10 at a time anyway. You want to get candy now don’t you? Well just don’t forget to pick this album up on the way.