Looking at the cover of the newest effort from The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs, Live on Kxlu, you can see that this band gets into their live performances; the cover sports Frank Meyer (lead singer) jumping high enough to dunk a basketball. Flip to the back cover and you can gauge how furiously they play by the bloodstains on their guitars. You can imagine that their live shows must be really brutal and the live recordings on this album give people a taste of their aggressive West Coast punk/rock style. Live at KXLU is a combination of older and newer material that they have released over the past years.
The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs have a great sense of punk-rock timing. “Miss Teen U.S.A.,” “Shawna,” and “Freak Out Man” are timed craftily between crunchy guitar riffs and exploding drum beats. The influences of Nirvana and The Stooges can be heard continuously throughout this record. The band pays tribute to The Stooges in covering “Funhouse”. You really don’t hear Art Jackson’s guitar capabilities until this song, as he unleashes his truly flashy style.
After the live recordings, keep listening, because there are three smoking bonus studio tracks. These three bonus songs take more of a harder edged rock approach than the punk-rock laden music that makes up the core of the album. The last song on the album, “I Want You”, is a raw and crusty eight minute journey through the depths of guitar rock. When you hear that song and compare it to most of the other tracks on Live on Kxlu, you pause and wonder if this is the same band that you just listened to for the past hour. It will be interesting to see where The Streetwalkin’ Cheetahs go in the future.
+larry sarzyniak
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