If you've ever been to any decent rock bars on a club night, and the house DJ’s keeping the tunes rollin’ like a wave of nostalgia into the early hours, more often than not, you can guarantee at some point during the night there will be a mass sing-along when “Gay Bar” by ELECTRIC SIX suddenly bursts through the speakers. It’s a modern classic, everyone loves it and it’s a brilliantly fun song. Most people leave it at that, but, others might think; “well what the hell happened to Electric Six?” The answer my friends, is nothing…you just forgot to keep up. Since they burst onto the scene back in 2003 with “Fire” they've more or less released an album every year since…and most people don’t even know they made more than one! Front man Dick Valentine stopped caring by album 3…but 2014 sees them release album number ELEVEN; “Human Zoo”…let’s uncage this beast…
The album starts off with “Karate Lips”. After chants for band get the song under-way, it settles into a slow, slightly bluesy rock number with a simple yet solid groove and of course, Valentine’s unmistakable vocals. Some slick electric 6-string work (see what I did there?) from Johnny Nashinal give the song an added classic rock feel and it’s a good start. “It’s Horseshit” follows up with a major shift in style which the band are renowned for; it’s a funk-driven 70’s sounding piece of music that really can’t help but make you want to get up and dance a little, it’s a feel good song.
“Gun Rights” is clearly a political song, but the question really is, is it serious or tongue in cheek? Their home state of Michigan hasn't changed any of its laws on fire arms, so it’s probably a poke at government in general, and as a song it’s simple enough, more of a grower this one. “I Need A Restaurant” and “Worst Movie Ever” are your typically quirky E6 tracks, especially the former but both are album highlights, before we finish up on “The Afterlife”. One of the things the band are underrated on is their ability to write good slow tracks, they've been doing it since the days of “Synthesiser” all the way through to last years “Cheryl vs Darryl” and they all prove enjoyable listens, a good ending here.
Essentially, what you can take from this is, the band are never going to reach the heady heights of their début, to be honest the last ten albums haven’t even charted, but that doesn't matter one damn bit. They may have had instant success and may now be considered a one-hit-wonder, but do you think that bothers them? They’re a touring band with a prolific and consistent output of huge diversity…they don’t want to stick to a formula to please plastic fans, they want to write music that matters to them, and they will continue to do so. I guess the Human Zoo could be a metaphor for the music industry itself; it’s easier to for people to look at what’s stuck in front of them, (i.e.. the mainstream) but the real beauty lies in the wild; let your ears explore. [7]
Twitter: @electric6 ( https://twitter.com/electric6 )
iTunes: Human Zoo - Electric Six
The album starts off with “Karate Lips”. After chants for band get the song under-way, it settles into a slow, slightly bluesy rock number with a simple yet solid groove and of course, Valentine’s unmistakable vocals. Some slick electric 6-string work (see what I did there?) from Johnny Nashinal give the song an added classic rock feel and it’s a good start. “It’s Horseshit” follows up with a major shift in style which the band are renowned for; it’s a funk-driven 70’s sounding piece of music that really can’t help but make you want to get up and dance a little, it’s a feel good song.
“Gun Rights” is clearly a political song, but the question really is, is it serious or tongue in cheek? Their home state of Michigan hasn't changed any of its laws on fire arms, so it’s probably a poke at government in general, and as a song it’s simple enough, more of a grower this one. “I Need A Restaurant” and “Worst Movie Ever” are your typically quirky E6 tracks, especially the former but both are album highlights, before we finish up on “The Afterlife”. One of the things the band are underrated on is their ability to write good slow tracks, they've been doing it since the days of “Synthesiser” all the way through to last years “Cheryl vs Darryl” and they all prove enjoyable listens, a good ending here.
Essentially, what you can take from this is, the band are never going to reach the heady heights of their début, to be honest the last ten albums haven’t even charted, but that doesn't matter one damn bit. They may have had instant success and may now be considered a one-hit-wonder, but do you think that bothers them? They’re a touring band with a prolific and consistent output of huge diversity…they don’t want to stick to a formula to please plastic fans, they want to write music that matters to them, and they will continue to do so. I guess the Human Zoo could be a metaphor for the music industry itself; it’s easier to for people to look at what’s stuck in front of them, (i.e.. the mainstream) but the real beauty lies in the wild; let your ears explore. [7]
Twitter: @electric6 ( https://twitter.com/electric6 )
iTunes: Human Zoo - Electric Six
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