Fresh Out, Philadelphia Slick

The beginning of every year is always the same, slow moving. The resolutions you made aren't coming to fruition as fast as you'd hope. Work is just getting back up to speed after the holidays, and the music industry is no different. Releases drop off and we're all stuck waiting for the next round of releases to come out. This year was no different, but lucky for me a small 10-piece band from the city of brotherly love, Philadelphia Slick, was just what I needed to kick myself out of the funk that I was in.

I first heard about Philadelphia Slick in a small piece in the current issue of Under the Radar which sparked my interest. A quick search lead me to a myspace and a website with streaming music and a few downloads to wet my whistle. But that wasn't good enough...on my next visit to Philly I quickly searched out 'Culture Industry', their 2007 debut release and made it a point to listen to it until I got sick of it but that hasn't happened.


Philadelphia Slick is reminiscent at first of another Philadelphia band, The Roots, but the "live hip-hop act" is where all my comparisons of the two bands stop. Principal composer and keyboardist, Zach Reilly, brings an old school pop sensibility and then weaves in a classic soul sound with touches of funk and 60's RnB to make retro sound fresh and new. While emcees Noesis and Mike Tjader share duties on the mic, voicing their opinions on the current political climate one second and dropping pop culture references the look next. What really sold me on Philadelphia Slick was the incorporation of live horns and a string section. The live instrumentation adds definition and a familiarity to the music that dates back to before I was born.


Check out Philadelphia Slick performing on DigPhilly, then go to philadelphiaslick.com and grab a copy of 2007's Culture Industry why you still can.