AMG Review of Dirty King

Jason Thurston
All Music Guide

Recorded in intermittent moments while on relentless 2008 and 2009 tours, the Cliks' second record, Dirty King, betrays its own piecemeal nature, but does it in a good way, giving the versatile band a chance to show off its many faces. Led by the sexual-grit-and-sawdust-laced vocals of Lucas (once Lilia) Silvieri, the Toronto band deals in late-night-tryst style rock & roll in almost any of the forms that description could conjure up. Dirty King opens on its trademarked note of slinky syncopated sensuality, moving from the bluesy, Pretenders-esque "Haunted" to the fevered, Cramps-like gin-joint reverie of the title track. The Cliks can switch easily from channeling Concrete Blonde (with a touch of U2's spiraling, arching guitars) on "Not Your Boy" to mid-career Beatles on "Red and Blue" to Gwen Stefani mixing it up with the Buzzcocks on "Henry." It's all delivered through some nifty production that strikes a balanced pose between down-and-dirty unpredictability and bright and clean pop. Dirty King is a smart, sexy clarion call to be taken seriously by a rock foursome who deserve to be noted for more than their lead singer's gender-bend.