Eisenhower

The Slip (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 7, 2006)
• Original Release Date: November 7, 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Bar/None Records
• ASIN: B000IONSZW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #92,660 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

About the Artist
Sometimes a band comes along that you can't help but champion-. THE SLIP are the real deal.This is indie-rock at it's best. Their latest (and greatest) album is called Eisenhower 11 tracks of brilliantly wrought, well, BIG ROCK. The stuff of heroes...and the heroes in this case are guitarist/vocalist Brad Barr, his bro and drummer Andrew Barr and bassist Marc Friedman. It's a lot to put on the shoulders of these 3 Boston-and-Montreal-based lads, but they brought it on themselves, what with their epic sound and their reaching for more, etc...

The band entered Q-Division Studios in Boston with co-producer Matthew Ellard (Elliot Smith, Billy Bragg & Wilco, Morphine) and later with sound engineer and co-conspirator Drew Malamud (Stars, Metric, The Dears), emerging with an album of classic proportions - drawing from roots as diverse as the Beatles and Led Zep to Built To Spill, Flaming Lips, Wilco, etc...

The first 3 tunes set the tone - from the kick off "Children of December," with its spiraling melody and fast talking delivery, through "Even Rats" - a super-charged, arena-rock racecar for your impersonal post-apocalypse, (the track has already been featured in Sony Playstation2's top-selling "Guitar Hero" video game, earning the band legions of new fans worldwide), to the languid and beautiful epic "If One Of Us Should Fall," or the intimate lullabye of "Suffocation Keep."

Eisenhower is, dare we say it, a classic - undeniably great and gallant, it takes our everyday, mundane feelings and elevates them to profundity- in essence, doing what true poetry does. And, not to mention, just being amazing rock n' roll. Gordon Matthews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the Wait, November 14, 2006

By	Mary A. Kirincic (Mill Valley, CA.) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have been a fan of the musicianship of this small but powerhouse band for a few years now and have always wished they could have the kind of exposure a band with vocals can get. They have been freeform and flowing and inventive and smart, but with numbers sometimes lasting for ten minutes or more they seemed destined to remain an alternative treasure. Until now. This is one of the most beautiful and creative pieces of work I've heard from any concert band in a long time. It's the kind of album you sit in your driveway just so you can hear one more song. Suffication Keep is the album's haunting and soulful ballad and my favorite. There is even an anthem in If One Of Us Should Fall. This should be the breakthrough this band was working towards. Five stars, yes!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Slip into this little slice of heaven--and live!, April 8, 2007

By	Marc D. Regan "writer of novel tunes" (Northern California) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I heard the first track (Children of December) on the radio one morning, and later that day I bought the CD--an unusual action for me. But the song sounded that good.

Then I gave the rest a listen. My reaction: Okay. That was after my first listen. Now, over 100 listens later, I am beginning to understand this album. And what I understand thus far is that these 11 songs have changed me. I am not sure how or why, but I am no longer satisfied by any of the music that I was satisfied with before, or that is being produced/played these days. And realizing this truth has frustrated me.

Where's the other good music?!

In Eisenhower, The Slip have produced a work that is reminiscent of Pink Floyd, Jimi Hendrix, Wilco, The Beatles, etc. It is surely a concept album, but what exactly the concept is eludes me--and I am glad. This gives me room to imagine and tack my own meaning to the songs.

The stand-out songs? I like the melancolia I find in Paper Birds--a song that also, in its drawnout, sing-along finish, serves to connect all the other songs on the album (Paper Birds is the 11th song)--and in Suffocation Keep; I like The Soft Machine and Mothwing Bite; I like Airplane/Primitive. But the jams, the 3 guys playing off each other, is just so fine! Here these guys have perfected their jazz/rock/acoustic fusion jam like never before.

Have I said too much? No. Take a listen, and then keep listening. Their sound grows, until you will be anxiously awaiting their next release.

About their earlier efforts: they don't compare to Eisenhower. The earlier efforts definitely have their moments, but the boys (3 brothers, 2 blood) have grown up musically, so don't wait--pick up a copy of Eisenhower today...and tell a friend to do the same.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hmmm, March 12, 2007

By	Heidi L. Straka - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I actually bought this as a present for my boyfriend. He had heard the first song on Guitar Hero and wanted the CD. He was thoroughly happy with the gift and I can't help but say that I enjoy the music too. It's not a hard rock but most of the songs really follow the flow of "Even Rats"...if you like that song....you'll probably like the rest.