Brian Lisik …Presents The Slovak Club
This Akron-based rocker has some good ideas embedded in his simple tunes that at times sound as if they were recorded while Brian Lisik (vocals/electric & acoustic guitars/percussion) was on a torture-rack being stretched to his ultimate vocal range. Interesting. His voice isn’t the most appealing, but he has rock-cred with his tone. I know where he comes from. Not quite as bluesy as Lee Michaels but maybe a little closer to the late guitarist Terry Reid.
“Romanian Eyes” is the most accessible & commercially viable entry. This isn’t singer-songwriter stuff like John Prine, or Tom Waits. But it is in the vicinity of Alex Chilton & the like. The Lisik’s aren’t progressive rock or grunge. What Brian unravels through his originals is a nifty garage-basement rock ethic. Bare bones but standing. His brother’s drums are played well (“Try To Do”) but are a bit hollow sounding possibly due to the limited ability of the recording equipment.
Recorded by Craig Lisik (drums/bass/electric & acoustic guitars/percussion/bgv/autoharp) in Ohio & mixed by Don Dixon (bass/organ/guitar solo) the 7-track …Presents The Slovak Club (Dropped Oct 30/Cherokee Queen Records/25:47) starts with a basic garage-basement rock sound on the fine rocker “Why I’m Here,” which is a little grating but to a young pair of ears – bliss. The second cut “Abattoir” has more melody & is sung with a little more sensibility. Brian isn’t Elvis & Robert Plant or Roger Daltry, but for the types of songs he sings he has lots of rock presence and balls. Evident on several of these contributions.
It’s obvious from the titles of some songs that the efforts try to be intense while the execution is still in a Standells (“Dirty Water” “Rari”), The Easybeats (“Made My Bed, Gonna Lie In It”), Los Bravos (“Black Is Black”) or the Wild Stares (“Piece of the Picture”) type quality. Lisik isn’t as pop-rock as some of these artists. But Brian’s not to be under-estimated since he doesn’t sound unfocused.
His slower songs have more value. “The Window” is the most accomplished performance done with skill. More like this & the brothers would have a viable style since garage rock isn’t known for its balladry. This is recorded well, good guitar, drums & vocals all falling into place. Sometimes an artist doesn’t know when they have accidentally created their signature sound.
Nothing here is over-cooked or under-cooked. It’s almost early Kinks before the hits started to come. It’s not easy competing with the likes of songwriters like Kurt Cobain, or Ric Ocasek, Lou Reed, or Elvis Costello. But Lisik has a way of scratching a listener’s ears. It is after all what rock ‘n’ roll was originally all about.
Highlights – “Abattoir,” “Pays To Be Paranoid,” “Romanian Eyes” & “The Window.”
Musicians – Steve Norgrove (bass).
Color image courtesy of Brian’s website gallery. CD @ Bandcamp & https://brianlisik.com/