CD Review: Sliimy, “Paint Your Face”

Perez Hilton may not know his ass from a hole in the ground, and his unwelcome attempt to go from gossip hound to media mogul might be going down in doughy Day-Glo flames, but even a broken clock is right twice a day, and for the first signing to his Warner Bros. vanity imprint, Hilton hasn’t done too badly for himself.

The artist in question, Sliimy, comes across at first as Hilton’s similarly annoying, equally doodle-obsessed cousin, but there are dark, tender depths to his first album, Paint Your Face. With his androgynous voice, melancholy lyrical streak, and gift for sweet pop melodies, Sliimy is almost a cross between Mika and a young Joan Armatrading. It pains me to say it, but at least in this case, Hilton might not be totally worthless; even if he didn’t quite “discover” Sliimy — he was a MySpace phenom before Perez came calling — this is far from the sort of obnoxious musical nightmare you’d expect from a Hilton-approved artist.

That being said, Paint Your Face also isn’t required listening. Songs like “Wake Up” are charming enough, but they can’t help but sound like watered-down Mika, and although Sliimy does try a few interesting things later in the album, his vocals don’t have enough emotional depth to help differentiate something like “Mum” from, say, “Our Generation.” The result is a record that, while perfectly pleasant, comes and goes without leaving much of a mark. For a debut, it isn’t bad at all, and assuming Hilton doesn’t do irreparable damage to his career, Sliimy could prove to be an interesting artist. In the meantime, call this one to grow on.

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