Sixer
Busted Knuckles & Heartbreak
TKO Records

This 5 song E.P. of gashouse house punk feels good. It feels better than James Brown AND Chuck Mangione combined. Sixer won’t make the front page of Guitar Magazine or Rolling Stone, but the elements they invoke are so perfectly blended that an immediate connection is solidified. In a time when bass lines are not self-evident, Brad Lile provides the bulk of melody. The guitars are pleasantly crunchy and aggressive with no screaming to distract from the vocals or arrangement. The vocals themselves, courtesy of Lee Baker, are heartfelt, and spit out with confidence. Like Social Distortion without the rockabilly and some early Black Flag when they were still having fun.

Just a couple of listens and you’ll be jump-rope singing "Now it’s gone it’s so far gone and I’ve changed my address" along to "Truth Hurts." "Farmington" and "Thin White Line" are songs for and about the road. I hope the loneliness they express doesn’t discourage them from touring here. The guitar and bass have nice interaction and balance. An interesting double vocal adds to the gruffness of Baker’s voice. "Fallen Angel" features kick-start bass drums and overexposed guitar scratching to accent misplaced accusations. "Now I now just who is changing." The barroom altar call is "Sugar Water" with its drunken country gospel choir. After the backwoods folky intro, things go a little Pentecostal and all hell breaks out. "I wined and dined her, then I was behind her." Maybe a little Schoolhouse Rock rhythm. This manic desperate search for the door ends too soon. Barkeep, more Sixer.

-Ewan Wadharmi

Track Listing:

1. Truth Hurts
2. Farmington
3. Thin White Line
4. Fallen Angel
5. Sugar Water