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Friday, March 2, 2012
Lickity
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I didn't know there was a delta between mid-period Skinny Puppy, deep drum 'n bass, and slammin' punk rock until I saw Lickity. Most people's first reaction to this band's live show is a kind of mouth-agape shell shock: the music doesn't seem like it could be coming from a group of guys playing live instruments on stage. Once they get a record done, I'll be first in line to hear it, because I don't know if this kind of high-energy rock married to electronica can be captured in a recording. If you've ever seen a movie where the action scene is set to an old Prodigy song, you have some idea what their live show is like.
...which is not to say they sound anything like Prodigy (I'm just trying to describe the energy at the show)... musically, Lickity is a much more complex beast than anything out of the 90s electronica scene. They do sort of evoke the promise of that era, though, of a time when all music magazines proclaimed rock was dead because, while Aerosmith and Metallica were plopping out corporate-tooled mediocrity, The Chemical Brothers sounded alive and exciting. In the fullness of time, we all learned that the big beat electronic guys could get bored or repeat themselves without any vibrancy or inspiration just like their guitar rock counterparts.
I was listening to drum 'n bass at the time-- D'n'B guys like Goldie and Grooverider were the Slayer to Prodigy and Orbital's Green Day-- and that brings the story squarely back into Lickity's court. Lickity tends towards the forceful and the high-tempo; their songs have a manic energy that could serve a mosh pit or the jungle room at a rave, consecutively or concurrently.
Bassist/Vocalist Tom does double duty with a Moog churning out super-thick synth bass and a 4-string bass guitar strapped on; the switch between synths and strings marks the transitions within songs on a complex, multilayered rig with mixers and rack gear and a pair of mic's (one is thickly effected.) Guitarist Justin also has keys in front of him, offering more lead synth tones along with heavier guitar parts, punk and metal riffing, and the kind of dexterous dissonant melodic work that reminds me of Larry LaLonde... though that's not one of Justin's influences-- I hear “the Larry Lalonde thing” every time I see Lickity, but it could just be me, projecting. Drummer Tim Leitch provides the quick, dexterous drum 'n bass beats that define the genre-- a heavy, danceable kick pattern with double-timed hi-hat and snare-- cut with more slamming, punkier drumming in the rock breakdowns.
There's a lot of hybrid kit between the three of them, a lot of hybrid styles in the music; everything is open to shift in a Lickity songs. Synths can be replaced by strings, guitars and basses and be switched out for keyboards, drums evolve from beats that sound like cut-and-sped-up trap loops to heavy rock beats, echoed drifting yells can be replaced with a roboticism that sounds like a Dalek invasion. It all charges forward with a lot of energy; the changes in the songs, instrumentation, and style keep the listener interested, but the furious energy of the band keeps the crowd moving.
Speaking of having an effect on the crowd: Lickity really must be seen to be believed. Tom begins each show by wrapping his head in electrical tape... then the fog comes up, the lasers switch on, and the music starts. It's not as if I've never seen bands with lights or fog machines before, but Lickity overtakes a venue with atmosphere-- their stage show is just incredibly well applied. It can be lessened by a club like the Blue Moon (which never turns the house lights down, and puts out almost no usable sound from what might be the worst PA in Seattle), but Lickity completely blew the doors off The Josephine.
Finally (and not to get too far from the real focus here, but I can't not mention this), these are really fun guys to hang out with. ubik. has played with Lickity twice now, and both times saw members from each band staying up and having a good time until the sun came up. We left Lickity's fog and lasers on chilling at The Josephine... though our second show together, down in Portland, I was pretty sick, and crashed out early. Sorry about bailing, guys.
Lickity Official Site
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