WhatzUp

What You See
Super Chikan
by Chad Beck

Super Chikan

At the dawn of the new millennium it's almost impossible to avoid the new advances in technology. Our cars can now keep us from getting lost, you can order groceries from home and digital editing has turned the entertainment industry upside-down. In the video domain we've already seen Fred Astaire dancing to sell vacuum cleaners and a paralyzed Christopher Reeves walking. The music industry is also leaning heavily into the future by offering more electronica artists than you can shake a stick at. In that light, it's refreshing to hear a band like Super Chikan from Fat Possum records keeping it real.

What You See is a soulful album firmly rooted in American blues. Although the actual recording is superb, there are no studio tricks here. Instead Super Chikan offer up 10 tracks that will remind you that human beings often rock harder and purer than any machine. When drummer Dion Thomas and bassist Harvell Thomas lock into their trademark groove, it's magical. Their playing is genuine, passionate and sets a perfect backdrop for James "Super Chikan" Johnson's hearty vocals and guitar. If the trio doesn't floor you on party-inducing cuts like "Fighting Cock" and "El Camino," you may want to check your pulse. Super Chikan are also adept at infecting their straight-up blues with large amounts of R&B flavor, making for a surprisingly good dance album. It's a rare thing to hear traditional blues artists play together so smoothly, and no one plays smoother than Super Chikan.

On top of playing silky sweet guitar lines and leading his band through raucous jams, James Johnson (a descendant of the famous boxer Jack Johnson) also has a knack for writing humorous and witty lyrics. On "You Said" he suspiciously confronts his lady on her $35 hairdo, which he paid for and is now messed up. "She said ä the wind was blowin' / I said what about all that hair spray I bought last week? / I bought 24 cans / they're all used up / and you're gonna tell me the wind ruined it?" It's a charming little story of infidelity, and Super Chikan makes it flat out rock. What You See is highly recommended for those who need to get in touch with the down and out while partying it up.