Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts

I reviewed the debut album from Portland's own Chinatown Dance Rock band, The Slants, and posted it on NW Noise about a week ago. I was pleased with how the review turned out and got some great feedback from it (including from the band) so I decided to post on my personal blog. Enjoy and be sure to check out the cd.


"Being the chief resident “Asian expert” of NW Noise, it only makes sense for me to review the debut album Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts from Portland-based Chinatown dance rock band, The Slants. While the band’s name may raise a few eyebrows, their music is sure to gain attention based its own merit. Living in a town where “everyone is in a band”, it can be difficult to find a lot of diversity within the local music community. However, The Slants are unlike anything I have heard in the Portland scene, and as much as I love the “Portland sound,” in this case, that’s a good thing.

Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts opens with traditional Asian music, kicking into “Sakura Sakura” in which lead singer Aron proclaims “We sing for the Japanese and the Chinese and all the dirty knees.” Band founder Simon Young’s bass skills shine on “Love Within My Sins” and Jonathan plays some tasty riffs on “I Want Everything.” Jen Cho and Gaijin ensure there’s plenty of rocking synth goodness throughout to keep all the New Order fans in the house very happy and AC keeps the beats coming. Aron’s vocals reminded me quite a bit of Dave Gahan from Depeche Mode and even Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran, a big plus. Jen Cho adds her lovely backing vocals to a couple of tracks as well (admittedly, I am a sucker for a girl with a beautiful voice). Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts gets you dancing from the opening track and keeps you moving until the closing “Vice Versus Virtue.”

The band’s originality receives much appreciation from this reviewer and the strength of the music proves that this is more than just some novelty band. Though the music is promoted as having an “Asian twist,” with the exception of the opening track and a few song titles, the Asian themes are subtle. Many of the lyrics focus on the challenges and identity issues an Asian growing up in American society faces, but they could be adopted by anyone who at one time or another has felt slightly out of place in this world. Heartache and heartbreak also are prevalent themes of the music. My only complaint with the album is the songs don’t differ too much from themselves, but overall this is a solid debut from a talented group of musicians.

The Slants have received press from multiple sources, including NPR, MSNBC, and The Asian Reporter. They also have shows booked across the globe in the coming months, including a few anime conventions, not too shabby for a band that celebrated their first birthday just a little while ago. There are still opportunities to catch them here in Portland though, including a “Welcome Home Show” at the Mt. Tabor Legacy on Sept. 19. I hear these guys put on an exceptional concert and I’m looking forward to checking them out.

Slanted Eyes, Slanted Hearts will be available nationwide on Sept 16, 2008."