Charlie Slick
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Charlie Slick

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"Edward Murphy album review"

Edward Murphy, the fourth self-released full-length from Ann
Arbor ‘s Charlie Slick, is mostly a 30-minute synth-pop dance
party, but it’s also a declaration of sexual maturity. “Mature”
not necessarily being the operative word— the album is riddled
with subtle and not so subtle innuendos related to Slick’s
virility. On “I’m A Boy” he proclaims, “I’m a Boy” (“I like to
go to the hardware store/ I like to touch the metal and touch
the wood”). On “Sushi Party” he let’s us know, “I’m a sushi
man” (“Some guys they like big hunks of meat/ that’s fine,
but not my specialty”). And on “Coconut Man”, he
announces, “I’m a coconut man”. I’m not entirely sure what that last one means, but let’s all
agree there’s something inherently sexual about coconuts.
Not that being a grown up is without growing pains. Slick bemoans adult limitations on “Too
Busy for Love”. And “Allan” is a love letter to a childhood best friend who moved away.
“Moments” is the real soft spot on the record, a slightly enigmatic coming of age story musing
about possessions being permanent. Slick sings about pawning things off to thrift stores to be
loved by someone else, and a photo of him holding a plastic toy: “My father is behind the
camera/ oh, I wonder if he understands?/ He is responsible for storing the image that defines me
as a man”.
Compared to the partying energy of his live show (dancing, confetti, bubble machines, and
dancing hipsters, I’m told) the record is sparse, just Charlie’s voice accompanied by Gameboy
beeps and fake handclaps— the old-school 80’s nostalgia working particularly well paired with
the reminiscent lyrics. What his songs lack in instrumental complexity, they have in spirit.
Apparently all it takes to start a dance party are some vintage synthesizers and a sex drive. - Motorcityrocks.com


"MetroTimes review of Edward Murphy"

Ann Arbor's Charlie Slick has developed a live show
reputation locally that's now bordering on
"legendary." Glitter ... bubbles ... lights ... chaos ...
and, most importantly, dancing. Those are the
elements one will find at a CS show, where Slick's
maniacal energy has been known to get even the
most introverted hipster shaking it on the floor. The
album title is probably more a nod to the comic
actor's brief foray into music (as in "Party All The
Time") than his movie roles. After all, Slick has a
knack for taking the cheesiest elements of '80s pop
and new wave and making them sound fun and even
relevant. This is due in large part to the earnestness
behind Slick's tawdry synth-beats. Yes, songs like
"Let's Have a Sushi Party" are as double
entendre-filled as the title suggests. But such
naughty bits share time with tracks like "Allan," a
song that borrows heavily from early Depeche Mode
and finds Slick pleading to a friend who's moved
away: "Allan, move back to Michigan, don't you want
to be my friend again?/'Cause when we talk on the
phone, oh, it seems like you understand."
The album's 32 minutes go by in a flash. In fact, it's over before one can say, "More sushi, please!"
Does the disc capture the sound and feeling of a Charlie Slick show? No. But that would be impossible,
regardless of budget, talent or time. What the album does do is give fans a memento — something to
tide them over between "Charlie Slick Experiences." The local "fun police" will undoubtedly hate this
record, but Charlie Slick won't care. And if any of those folks should accidentally wander into one of
his live shows and hear him sing, "Let's get down baby, we'll get down baby ...," their feet will
probably obey, despite themselves.
- The Metrotimes


"Real Detroit Review of Edward Murphy"

Charlie’s hallucinogenic circus romp rave anthem simply suggests, “Let’s
Dance!” Charlie Slick has always been about liberation. Goofy, soapy,
glittery, no one’s watching, liberation. He's a punk-rocker turned
flamboyant hunky nerd with possessing synth swirls and arresting
choruses, like some overly sexy cartoon or an unabashedly un-hip pied
piper. He's a weird wavy crooner, combining David Byrne’s shamanistic
quaver with Gary Numan’s neon melodrama. His sweetly buzzing melodies and cheesy/cool keyboard
accoutrements may be minimalist basement compositions, but the man knows how to lay down a beat — be
it simple 1-2 aerobics (“Let’s Dance”), chest pounding tribalism (“Coconut Man”), New Order dance floor
firestarters (“Too Busy for Love”) or 8-bit rigid rhythms (“Big Picture”). Edward Murphy features many of
Slick's live favorites, like the blushingly suggestive “Sushi Party” and the hypnotic send-up to dessert factory
workers, “Coconut Man.” Surprise cuts include the siren-synth beauty “Moments.” Yes, some are a send up
to dizzied basement breaking dance riots, but listen and you’ll be surprised by some of his poignant,
melancholic musings of defining his confused existence in a world of change, praying that love ain’t nothing
like a bubble-gun. — JEFF MILO
- Real Detrot Magazine


"Real Detroit review of a house show!"

It is the time of weekend rock ‘n’ roll
barbeques and hot house parties — to
which I say,"MORE MORE MORE!"
Come on, kids — open your rented
basements and backyards to the masses,
risk the noise cop tickets and the blown
security deposits — it’s summer, invite us
(and a good lineup of bands) over for a
party.
Last weekend, I caught Ann Arbor’s
Charlie Slick at a house party in
Woodbridge. Between the confetti, the
glitter, the smoke machine and the dudes
hanging from the light fixture (literally), I
didn’t hear much of the music. But their
— it was two guys, I think — Myspace (myspace.com/charlieslick) has four songs for you to check
out. They’re pretty catchy in a
hipster-kids-get-sequencer-and-then-do-electro-vocal-freakout-and-half-rap-over-it sorta way. Fun,
dance-y, whatever.
But it’s the spirit I like most. CS had the crowd going crazy like they rarely do (anymore? rumor has
it people in, like, the ‘60s danced or something) at rock shows. And Charlie Slick will be keeping kids
dancing at their upcoming house party show in Ypsilanti on July 28, Barnfest in Ann Arbor on August
10 and The Elbow Room on August 24. It’s just a hunch, but I’m betting CS will play a few more
house parties this summer. Keep an eye online. | RDW
- Real Detroit Magazine


"Live show review by Webvomit.com"

Lucky for us, Charlie Slick went
on around 2:30 to give us a break and initiate a dance party. Charlie Slick is a fucking machine and he
means serious business. He shows up and it’s like “Alright you monkeys. I’m gonna play some songs
and you’re going to dance. And even if you think you’re not going to dance, I will fucking make you
dance. And I will throw glitter on you and blow bubbles at you and you’re going to eat this shit up
because I am awesome.” And he does and we do and he is and then I black out and wake up at 3pm on
Sunday with a pounding headache and glitter in my hair.
So, uh...what’d you do this weekend? - Webvomit.com


"Best Live Performer of 2008, Real Detroit Weekly"

Not every single show we go to is memorable. A lot of them slip through the cracks of history and disappear via blown amps, obnoxious strobe lights and drown in the bottom of our chilled beers. It’s really not our fault — we like to drink whiskey and expensive beer (not very Detroit of us), and sometimes, your band is not everything it’s cracked up to be when you transfer from the garage to the limelight. But for Charlie Slick — who is only worried about how to make an already incredible live show bigger, better and wetter — putting on a solid show is quickly becoming child’s play.

“Playing guitar, you don’t really have to think about how to occupy yourself on stage,” says Slick before heading off to work — the idea of working and the multitude of meanings that accompany the word “job” a common thread throughout his lyrics. But Slick made the jump to pure electronics, trading in six-strings for hundreds of punchy, dangerous dance-filled keys ... and a couple of bubble machines. You may not remember the rest of the bands on the bill, but it’s hard to forget song after song of simplistic, born-to-make-you-boogie beats and invented instruments that control a series of flashing lights to multiply and amplify the suede shoe sexuality of Slick’s performances. - Real Detroit Weekly


Discography

Charlie Slick, Pass the Time Machine (LP 2005)
Charlie Slick, Walter Carlos (LP 2007)
Charlie Slick, In My Room (LP 2007)
Charlie Slick, Edward Murphy (LP 2008)

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Bio

Charlie Slick has been playing anything from parties to big Festivals and everything in between for the last 4 years and he's a crowd pleaser no matter where. His music is heavy on synthesizers, drawing influence from 80's groups like Soft Cell, and Depeche Mode, but the production and lyrical content sets him apart from other 80's new wave revampers. He, himself say's he draw most of his influence from 50's and 60's pop music and it just so happens he really love synthesizers.

The Charlie Slick show is a Michigan Staple. His antics include, but are not limited to convincing everyone in the audience that they are traveling through time. He sings with power and clarity, and it's hard to leave a Charlie Slick show untouched (or at least, un-glittered).