Christopher Sluka and the band that goes under his last name seem to be on a streak of interesting singles recently.
Well, it should not be such a wonder, since they do have 11 albums behind them, and actually bear that title from one of Tom Wait’s great songs, ‘Big in Japan.’
In addition to his uniquely accessible music, Christopher is also a globally renowned visual artist and his surrealistic oil paintings have graced wall space in galleries from New York to San Diego, and Tokyo to Milan.
As far as his music goes, it’s not so easy to pin down Sluka’s sound, although he has a penchant for that orchestrated sound, even when he underpins it with some subtle electronics, like on “Isn’t It Strange,” or in a fully-blown variation on “Happy In Your World.” It is no wonder that Sluka’s live shows are going down a storm.
If comparisons are in order, Sluka veers anywhere between Bowie in his orchestrated mood, early solo phase of Scott Walker, Irish wizard Neil Hannon and his The Divine Comedy, and melodic structures of late Mark Hollis and his Talk Talk.
While it sounds like a hefty combination to achieve, Sluka gets quite close to it on both of these tracks and invites potential listeners to search out his other works.
