Some bands are derivative. Out of either arrogance or ignorance, they plunder sounds past without having the respect, acknowledgement, or innovation necessary to borrow a forerunner’s ideas. On the other hand, some celebrate what they have learned through homage, and even reference their influences in verse. Enter Slingerland Ride. These four seasoned Chicagoans have been playing together for a couple of years, and have just released a self-titled testament to their honesty on Empty Adventure Music.

A Tom Waits inspired carnival stomp lurches the listener into “Come to This”, a curmudgeonly lament on the modern state of affairs. A few lines into the song, vocalist/guitarist/keyboardist/percussionist Michael Dean mentions a “rusty guitar”. This is a direct Tom Waits reference, but here we have a calmer, less frenetic style—a mature music which takes its time to make its points. Dean later alludes to The Dead Kennedys—a nice tribute to a band that helped to increase youthful social awakenings, a consciousness which colors the whole of Slingerland Ride. On the next tune, a tango rhythm illustrates the intricate dance it takes to “Leave it All Behind”. Sprinklings of Nick Cave are evident throughout; a honky-tonk piano flavors “I Laugh Until I Cried”. Both “Junkie Queen”, an examination of false seduction, and “Colors and Lies”, are similarly enchanting, with Douglas Abram’s Morphine-styled dual reeds propelling the grind of “No Retreat/No Surrender/No Joy”. The EP closes with the cynical “When Nothing Seems Right”, a true tavern ballad where “The glass is half empty/And the bartender’s nowhere in sight”.

The whole pessimistic affair ends with the line, “Welcome to your life”. Alongside artwork reminiscent of AC/DC’s Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (hyper-normal people with blanked-out eyes), there is plenty of darkness to chew on. There is balance, though; hope, “that thing with wings”, elevates the proceedings, and a sense of celebration is always in play. Maturity and complexity triumph. In conversation with bassist Arunas Ingaunis, I learned that Slingerland Ride recently picked up another keyboard player. This should add even further dimension to a band that knows its past, present, future, what it wants to say, and how to say it.

For more info and booking email arunas33@comcast.net.