So there’s this thing called “boy music.” “Boy music” is music that very few girls like, but boys flock to in droves because it has that angry, testosterone-filled feeling of scary emotion inside its sound. Tool, Ministry, and Helmet come to mind when I think of such music. Not that I believe girls can’t feel or understand it; it’s just the kind of noise created only from the darkest blackest hearts and souls, the kind of sounds that hurt every part of the body. This is the first impression I got when I listened to We are the Sluts of Trust, the latest release from Sluts of Trust, a Scottish duo coming from Chemikal Underground Records.
Although there has been a recent wave of two-piece bands falling into the mainstream (i.e. The Raveonettes, Dresden Dolls, The Kills, and of course, The White Stripes), it still seems to be fairly uncharted territory when it comes to the success of a minimalist set-up of this nature. Fortunately, Sluts of Trust have shot themselves all over this map, utilizing their instruments and vocal talents to the point of exhaustion. This wonderful exhaustion is due to the crushing force of blues, treacherous rock, and blatant simplicity created and abused by Anthony O’Donnell and John McFarland. McFarland’s voice carries a false sense of urgency; each track burns so erotically that it’s hard not to feel a male sexual energy that hasn’t been captured since The Stooges released Metallic K.O.
While Sluts of Trust may be channeling the power of the zipper on Iggy Pop’s pants, their sound tells a different story. Songs like “That’s Right…that Cat’s Right” and “Tighter than the Night” carry the art school jumpiness of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the guitar power of Jimi Hendrix and early Smashing Pumpkins, wrapping them into a package all their own. Not since the early ‘90s has a band harnessed the raw power of the electric guitar and used it to its full potential. Boy music aside, We Are All Sluts of Trust is a tense, carnal, heavy-handed, and tightly wound album. If you’re looking for new album to have sex to, Sluts of Trust may have just created the latest tool for inducing inappropriate behavior.
