Album Review: The Richmond Sluts - "Psychoactive Sounds"
Named after the Richmond district of San Francisco which they hail from, my initial thoughts from the band name were that the Richmond Sluts would be a group of old school Thunders/Joneses devotees with the requisite sneered vocals, scuzzy riffs and punk attitude. As it turned out I was very wrong but the reality isn't bad either. Basically what we're dealing with here is an American take on the whole latter day pub rock formula with tight rhythms, drawled vocals and Small Faces keyboards combining to give Psychoactive Sounds an air of smoky cool. If you remember early '80s r'n'b pub rockers the Inmates then think a Californian version and you're not too far off. Tunes like Top Of The Night and the intergalactic themed A Push cruise by with the rhythms to make your toe tap and bring a smile to your face. There's times such as on Killin' Eyes where the vocals here sound almost like some sort of weird cross between Bryan Ferry's lounge lizard croo...