Genre. It's something that's handy to music critics and music
historians like myself, because it allows us to easily group bands
together to make describing a band's sound easier. Lots of the flange
effect, poetic lyrics, and atmospheric keyboards? It's goth. Three
chords, distorted to hell, with shouted lyrics? That's punk rock, my
friend! Lots of nihilistic lyrics and simplified 70s metal licks?
Chances are, you're listening to grunge.
The Alcohotlicks.. are
one of those bands that simultaneously dismay and excite music critics,
because it's hard to put them into one genre, and we actually have to
work to describe what the damn thing sounds like without being able to
fall back on describing what they actually sound like. Are they a jazz
band? Jazz has never sounded this raw. Are they a rock band? They sound
like it sometimes, but there's no lyrics and more than three chords
being used here. The closest guess I can make are that this is a jazz
band made up of musicians who grew up listening to alternative rock,
but even that's a stretch.
So where to start? Hot In Hell..
sounds for all the world like instrumental hard rock, from the massive
stop-start riff that begins the song, to the explosions of guitar
acrobatics that start to kick in around the two minute mark. While the
whole track is built around the same grungy four note riff, there are
enough twists and turns, none of them predictable, to give the track an
edge that goes beyond what a mere rock band can do.
On the other hand, tracks like Down Town..
relegate the rock aspect towards the back of the mix, in favour of
straighter jazz. Even those who are not frequent jazz listeners will be
able to appreciate the skilful improvisations and twisting, turning
melodies. Hey Man, Yeah Man.. channels old school surf rock, and there are echoes of other bands as diverse as Slint.., Deerhoof.. and even daggy prog-rockers like Yes...
What's particularly impressive is that it all fits together, and the
band make it sound so easy that you can't help but wonder why nobody
has actually done what they do before.
As much as us music journalists love genre, perhaps we need to accept that The Alcohotlicks..
are a band that truly defies being labelled. What's more, they do it
while creating music that is enjoyable to listen to, has enough
familiar touchstones for casual listeners to relate to it, yet it's
technically impressive enough for music nerds to analyse it and enjoy
it on a whole different level. If The Alcohotlicks.. can keep this up, they might just be able to bring jazz to a whole new audience.

link: http://www.halo-17.net/reviews/index/The+Alcohotlicks/You%2C+You/12259