Explosion Robinson
The Luxury Leader
Slabco,P.O. Box 292239, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Release Date: April 2001
This April 2001 release by Slabco stalwart and ex-Sukpatch band member, Stephen Hermann, cuts to the chase with its album sleeve and CD. Kitsch photographs that include a man standing by a bed made of tree trunks, the mulleted head of Hermann's ex-roommate as a child, and seemingly random(!), 70s-inspired penciled illustrations of people, things, and animals, depict the eclectic vision of the music itself.
Standout tracks include 'Chop Cuts', 'Fit Models', 'Glass Packs', and 'Special C', which exemplify the "style" of the album. Choppy cuts, mixes, samples, loops, vocals, keyboards, and scratches are seamlessly bound into listenable and sometimes danceable, kitsch, funky beats.
Steven Nereo (Slabco soundmeister and one half of Volume All*Stars) scratches and plays keyboards on tracks like 'Down Home', 'Need it that Bad', 'C. Lancaster' and 'Plucked Smooth' with clear influence by Casiocore (labelmate).
On hearing the mechanistic grindings of 'Mean Robots' one imagines Dalek-like 70s robots (ala Dr. Who) rolling around on wheels and flailing their wrench-hands at each other. It's at once dark and sinister, but with tongue firmly in cheek.
Never over-produced, Explosion Robinson keeps the sounds chunky and the mix fresh on The Luxury Leader taking you into the netherworld of laser beams, LPs, and log beds on 18 fine tracks. Check it out!
-- Lisa Wu
