December 15, 2003 - Slick Shoes is comprised of Ryan Kepke (vocals), David Stoltenberg (guitar),
Jonah Peterson (guitar), Kevin Clark (bass) and Joe Nixon (drums). Five guys in their mid-twenties
and they've already released five full-length records. How crazy is that? Some of these guys have
become scene veterans before most even make the scene! All things considered, it's a pretty
impressive feat. They've got youth, experience and tenure on their side. They've also got a barrel
full of technical skill and they're not afraid to use it.
Musically speaking, Far From Nowhere plays something like a mixture between mid-90's Lagwagon and
Pennywise with the quick, forbidden drumbeat, the fast, four chord guitar rhythms and the rippin'
lead fills. While a little darker and a little faster than most of the pop punk you'll hear on the
radio these days, Slick Shoes doesn't sacrifice anything in the way of melodic sensibility. Ryan
Kepke's vocal style is an amalgamation of Mike Herrera's (MXPX) and Gabe Meline's (Ground Round),
sounding thick and nasal at the same time.
It puts a very compatible face on the body of music found
on this record, but the melodies, while good and catchy, can get a little stale and overused. In
other words, the overall originality wears a little thin. This is, of course, just one of the many
downfalls of being in a pop punk band in this day and age.
The lyrical content on this record is pretty average when compared to Slick Shoes' peers. With
lyrics such as "Will you ever know how much you mean to me," taken from "Drive To The End" and "But
as long as you're with me, I'll be alright," from "Hello Stupid," you can pretty much guess the
caliber of poetry and prose contained throughout the rest of the album. Basically the guys don't
mess around with metaphor or imagery; it's all pretty much as is and direct to the point. Sure,
there's much better lyrical content lurking out there, but there is also much worse, too.
The album kicks off with "Darko," one of the better tunes included here and coincidentally, one of
the album's darker tracks. Opening with a clean, foreboding guitar riff, the song quickly bursts
into a fierce, distorted attack as dual guitars shred through the intro. The verses cool things off
a bit with staccato lead fills played over palm-muted rhythms. But it all starts right back up again
when the chorus hits, especially when Kepke keeps pace with a Bad Religion-esque melody and kicks
down the following lyrics: "Are you burning up down inside? Will you ever make it through the
night?" The bridge injects some prog-punk into the mix with some tight scales and a slick breakdown.
The overall energy in this song is impressive and quite powerful.
The band brings the tempo down a bit on "Now's the Time," opting for a bouncy, start/stop guitar
line instead. The instrumental part of the song works just fine but the slower tempo does not agree
with Kepke's vocals at all. They tend to retreat into long, drawn out notes rather than using the
space to full effect, giving the track a lazy, uninspired tinge. Needless to say, the verse melody
suffers inexorably, leaving the rest of the song to stand on its own. Even though the track inches a
little closer to redemption with a very catchy chorus and a nice slow instrumental section towards
the end, the prior damage can't be undone and ultimately it can't be saved. The worst part is that a
lot of the songs on this record fall victim to this very same problem: good part, bad part, good
part, etc. It's unfortunate, as consistency is very important in this particular genre.
That said, there are plenty of songs on the album that will have you singing along, such as "Always
There," "Once Again," and "We Were Young". All of these tracks are good songs and stand strong on
their own merits, but on the flipside, there are tracks like "Down Hill" and "Sleep In," both of
which sound contrived and feel like filler material. The presence of such tracks soon becomes an
unwelcome trend on the album and forces it somewhere just above the mediocre line.
The bottomline is that if you like fast, catchy punk rock that leans toward the sensitive side,
you'll probably dig this album. Far From Nowhere never ventures off into unknown territory but it
rarely gets boring. It's obvious that these guys are talented musicians as the delivery is great,
but without some serious creativity and ingenuity, they could end up being overlooked in favor of
something a little more individual. This is a middle of the road album from a band that has a lot of
potential to be great.