.

Screw the mainstream if you really want to get your rocks off you have to go to the underground. That's just what we plan to do with this series, take some of the best emerging bands that are out blowing away hardcore fans on the underground music scene. 

Louis XIV - Illegal Tender
Label: Pineapple
Rating: 
 

Louis XIV are a San Diego based trio that has been around for a few years who got a big kick up after their appearance at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin in 2004. The five songs on this EP have been around for awhile too; they�re finally getting out and about thanks to Pineapple�s distribution deal with Atlantic (so try not to hate the corporate machine today �cuz they done a good thing�). Led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Jason Hill, Louis XIV has definite glam leanings, and a listen to Illegal Tender hearkens to the likes of John Kongos, Gary Glitter, Queen, the Sweet, T. Rex and naturally, David Bowie.

The standout track here is �Finding out True Love is Blind,� a deliciously horny and overtly arrogant airing of sexual prowess. Hill sings the song using his best Tim Curry impersonation, running down a laundry list of the women he wants: China girl and her Asian friend, the girl in the front row with the tight pants, �carrot juice� and her �vanilla� friend, etc. The lusty role call is answered submissively with �Wind me up and make me call to you/Wind me up and make me crawl to you� by guest singer Lindsey Troy. The song displays an attitude that will no doubt irk some feminists and others, but hey, it�s only rock�n�roll. �Louis XIV� and �Illegal Tender� are glam romps while �Marc� is more sedate with a sound akin to Bowie�s �Life on Mars� or �Jean Genie.� �Louis Reprise� is an instrumental that starts off with an electric guitar barrage that leads into an unexpected pairing of acoustic finger picking and violin (let�s call it fiddle). Just when you think the boys have gone bluegrass, the acoustics take on handclaps and other effects that turn the sound back to glam. Sort of an �expect the unexpected� advisement from Hill and his songwriting partner, Brian Karscig.

Illegal Tender is perfect in its purpose as an EP---a taste of something new and different that leaves you chomping at the bit for more.

Listen to Samples and Purchase This CD online

Visit the official website