100% by The Slew
LABEL: Ninja Tunes

If the actual music didn’t really matter and you only populated your iPod based on an artist’s pedigree, Kid Koala would probably be, hands down, your favorite artist ever. Because on paper, there is absolutely no denying that this veteran Canadian turntablist has a positively sick resume.

Over the course of a rock steady career that began in Vancouver clubs in the late 1980s, it’s very likely Koala has worked with or had some sort of association with an artist you love and respect.

He’s opened tours for behemoths like Björk, Radiohead and DJ Shadow. He’s a member of Lovage with Dan the Automator and Deltron 3030 with Del Tha Funkee Homosapien.  He has a loose association with Gorillaz and he lives in North America’s indie music mecca, Montreal. This man is the experimental music circuit’s Kevin Bacon. 

But if we’re all being honest here, Kid Koala, despite his truly remarkable industry connections and admirable body of work, is not your favorite artist ever.

Why? Probably because Kid Koala makes tracks with a ton of technical merit that just aren’t all that fun to listen to more than once or twice. His scratching is nearly laser precise. His tunes are loaded with texture, humor and lovably quirky samples. His albums are like your new car battery—intelligent design and all, but you’re not rushing out to show it to anyone. 

And while Kid Koala’s latest effort, 100%—under the moniker, The Slew—is probably his finest work to date, it’s still just a really well engineered album that you’ll never end up recommending to a friend. 

Make no mistake, 100% is not a bad album. Technically, it’s pretty good. Highlights including the title track feature a little John Spencer Blues Explosion circa Experimental Remixes coupled with a healthy dose of Beastie Boys era Mix Master Mike. “The Grinder” swoops in near the middle of the album and sounds a bit like what you’d get if you threw The Police in a blender with Preemptive Strike. 

Good combinations. Good sounds. Good ideas. But for some reason, the whole thing just feels destined to soundtrack Tony Scott’s next meth-fueled jump cut montage or a new Chevy Camaro commercial.  

When you go back to all the incredible connections and theoretical potential for this artist and this album, you can’t help being a bit disappointed by 100%. It sounds good,  just not good enough. It’s like a brain surgeon mopping the floors at your office—he can and should be doing a little better.


REVIEWED BY ALEC BRINEGAR
ALEC'S FAVORITE TRACKS: "100%" • "The Grinder" • "It's All Over"

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