The Cliks

Dirty King (Silver Label)

By Chris R. Morgan
Published: August 1st, 2009 | 1:01pm

The Cliks play a kind of music that many call “dirty rock,” limited not to the fact that their album is titled

Dirty King

, but also because their sound hints at a lack of basic refinement that became an aesthetic when people started caring about polished production. Sleazy riffs derived from the blues, surf rock, and cock rock help to bolster a vocal style that swerves in various directions from tough girl sneer to tough girl sneer with a heart of gold. Each version, however, has an equally powerful range in volume and melody.

There’s no lack of melody at any point on this record, which will no doubt make for an attentive, satisfying listen, but not an interesting one. What can be given to us by the Cliks that hasn’t been given to us by the Gits, the Bangles, or a slew of America’s bar bands several times over? There is indeed skill, as well as the portrayal of emotion, but emotion itself is something alien to this album. Perhaps the Cliks would do well to wallow a little longer in the muck the next time around. But shit, at least they’re not a cover band.

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