Slicker

Both Hefty (the label) and Slicker (the artist) are the product of John Hughes III, son of the teen film director John Hughes. Hughes the younger creates painstakingly crafted electronic compositions with a dash of rock influence thrown in, sounding a bit reminiscent of Mouse on Mars. He has found sympathetic contributors to refashion them. The least creative thing about this CD is its title and the track names dispense with titles altogether, and are named after those who remixed them. No one musical definition can be applied to Remixes - these pieces are definitely not remixes for the dance floor, but for headphones. The first track, remixed by Delarosa & Devine, would have you believe that you're heading into rough and tumble drum & bass turf, what with its clattery blurts and bleats. From there, things downshift into hip-hop tempos, but any similarity to hip-hop is strictly coincidental. The power-sanded dumbek action of Matmos's track three remix is a highlight. By the time we get to the end of gorgeous and jazzy (but not twee) track six, remixed by Miceparade, this CD has completed its 31-minute journey, ready for you to engage the "repeat" function. If you like extreme audiophile stereo processing whipping about your brain, this is a CD for you.