Nibs And Nabs
Mute
By: Eric Greenwood
This debut album from South London’s Slick Sixty combines the band’s early singles and b-sides for an electro-jazz, bigbeat, breakbeat, old school extravaganza. Think Screamadelica-era Primal Scream mixed with lazy, laid-back hip-hop beats and smooth seventies funk on top of early nineties psychedelia and you’ll be honing in on what this sounds like. Trumpets, organs and fuzzed out keyboards abound on this predominantly instrumental hodgepodge that tips its hat more than once to many genres past yet it all sounds so up to the minute.
Slick Sixty is all about music as a means of escape- no silly message or political agenda just beats and samples. The trio doesn’t hide behind art-school pretension either. Nibs And Nabs is an eclectic ride, gleefully cramming its influences together in a melting pot so diverse it sounds unique. The album hinges on the strength of “Hilary, Last Of The Pool Sharks”, which masterfully combines big, sprawling beats, primitive scratching and a slew of noises with a nasty, blues-based guitar line. These are the guys you’d want to DJ your next party.