The Saturday Knights, 'Mingle' (Light in the Attic)
Likably hyper Seattle crew struggles to indie-rock the mic.
By Josh Modell 08.21.08 1:43 PM
Rap-rock never got much respect, and for good reason: Most fusionists exploited the most obvious clichés of both worlds. This multiracial trio's debut full-length starts out with exactly the right mix on "45" -- hook-heavy, Pharcyde-inspired lyrics mesh with snaky live guitars, turntable scratches, and booming drums. But ultimately, the energetic group seems so hell-bent on not repeating itself that things get disjointed: "Mutt" is straight-up garage rock, while "Private School Girl" takes things too far toward jokey pop rap. A few tracks hit bull's-eyes, but as a whole, Mingle sounds more like a scattered compilation of ideas than a new paradigm.












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