Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as catchy as the first record, but still pretty good..., February 3, 2008
One of the things I like most about 'The Best Little Secrets are Kept', Louis XIV's first record, was that it is immediately fun to listen to and it doesn't get boring. It has a lot of killer hooks. This new record is a bit different. This record is much more produced and subdued. The overall tone of the record is darker (a lot of the songs are based on minor keys), there is a string arrangement on nearly all of the tracks (which lends itself naturally to a more stylish legatto-type phrasing) and there are lots of effects on all the else. The Beatles influence irrevocably continues to show itself. There were smacks of it on the first record but it has become even more apparent on this effort. From what I gathered from a recent interview, being on tour with The Killers last year afforded them the opportunity to travel in an actual tour bus. Jason Hill equiped that bus with recording gear and sitting on a bus for hours on end can allow an artist to indulge any sort of musical whim. Over the course of the tour they came up with seventy or so songs and apparently had a difficult time narrowing it down to the thirteen presented here. Is that a valid explanation for the change in attitude of this record? I can't say for sure but if you are expecting to come to this record and find immediately gratifying, raucous, adolecent, orgiastic, groovy, fleeting, hooky, glam-rock, think again...this record is a bit more telling. There's a figurative 'cover charge' for every good party and this album shows that. Every muse must learn from the luxury of comfort and show their motivations accordingly. It's almost as if the attention to the band has prompted them to be serious. The dictinct difference in records shows that Louis XIV could potentially fall into the pitfall of achieving a pulpit through inoculated means and begin to take themselves too seriously. Where that mutation leads is yet to be seen. However, that being said, this is not a bad record (it has it's moments and it sounds great); it's just not what I was expecting. It continues to grow on me with multiple listenings. See for yourself...but don't say I didn't warn you.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Going back...., February 19, 2008
I would say this album resembles more closely Louis XIV's indy album done in that span of time between Convoy reforming and Secrets being released. It is different and in some ways a move back... not it a bad way simply in a stylistic way. For long time fans of the group it shoudl not be a surprise.. for fans who picked up starting at Secrets... they may be confused.
Slick Dogs and Ponies delivers, but it is different than what many people may have expected.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I Know What You Want., February 15, 2008
I'm going to take a different perspective by saying that Louis XIV's second album "Slick Dogs And Ponies" is a more mature work than their debut. To be honest, I wasn't sure the band was going to have a second album since their first failed to make an impression with popular music listeners.
After many listens this week I am able to say that I like "Slick Dogs And Ponies" about equally as much as I liked their debut. The completely adolescent songs about girls from the debut has matured into a more sobering and menacing reflective album that's no less rock and roll than their first.
I was hooked when I heard "Guilt By Association" on my local radio station a few weeks before the album was released. I agree that the Beatles are ever present influences, and I agree that T. Rex and now Radiohead are also present. For some reason I also think of the Black Crows as well--and even the Velvet Underground to an extent.
"Air Traffic Control" is one of the slower tracks, but it sticks to the brain like candy to a baby's hands. I really liked "Misguided Sheep", "Tina" and "Slick Dogs And Ponies" with "There's A Traitor In This Room", "Sometimes You Just Want To" and "Stalker" following close behind.
I don't believe Louis XIV have achieved perfection on either of their first two albums, but they continue to hint at something great. If Jason Miller and company can figure it out, they could have a run away smash on their hands.
For now, four stars because the album holds together well and has memorable songs. It might be darker, more subdued, well produced, but I find it still equal to their debut.
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