Now that
Slick Shoes has jumped to Side One Dummy, this retrospective seems like it might be a contract fulfiller for the band's longtime Tooth & Nail home. Whatever the reason for its release,
The Biggest & the Best is an entertaining rewind of
Slick Shoes' rather lengthy punk-pop career, including material from the band's first four full-lengths and its eponymous EP. There's the anxious, solo-heavy rush of 1997's "My So Called Real World" and the double-time skip of "Joe's Sick" (taken from that same year's
Rusty), as well as the more focused, melodic attack of later material like the irresistibly peppy pogo "Friday Night" or "My Ignorance"'s ambitious breaks and layered harmonies. As an added bonus for fans,
The Biggest & the Best includes three previously unreleased tracks, "Pretend to Be the Same," "Ruled Out," and "Spleen Puncher." While the latter has the best name, "Ruled Out" might be the strongest. It isn't the most immediate number, taking its time with a shuffling verse before launching into a gorgeous descending chorus. But the most prominent features of
Slick Shoes are represented in its miniature guitar solos, inventive drumming, and rousing vocals. It becomes a seamless and, yes, slick sonic advertisement for the rest of the best-of. ~ Johnny Loftus