Slick Dogs and Ponies

Sounding very much like a British band mashing up glam, punk and ‘60s icons such as the Stones and T-Rex, San Diego bad boys Louis XIV jump-started their career in 2004 by wooing fans across the pond (touring and selling their own self-released Louis XIV), where they created a buzz that leaked back to the states resulting in a deal with Atlantic Records. This follow-up to their raunchy and raucous 2005 major label debut finds the band detouring a bit from the path they started on, adding copious amounts of violins, cello, piano and even a smidge of flute. They’ve employed composer David Cambell, aka Beck’s dad, and the result is bigger arrangements and deeper dimensions, resulting in a sound that’s less garage and more classic (try not thinking of David Bowie when you hear “Air Traffic Control”). While they’ve traded in the “girls, girls, girls” meme for one that is more political in nature, the boys still wanna have fun. “Guilt by Association” shows vocalist Jason Hill frolicking in dramatic histrionics, fueled by snappy drumming, jittery guitars, and slashing strings and synths thumping along on an adrenaline dance beat. Sometimes growing up pays off!