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I'll just come right out and say it: Electric Six is one of
the funnest bands ever, and if you don't agree, then honey, there's
not much that can be done for you. Yeah, yeah, yeah, say what you
want about their being a one trick pony that can only spit out ridiculously
catchy, guitar and synth driven dance tunes that will make you laugh
while you're shaking it on the dance floor or driving way too fast.
If the magic formula of those time-honored topics of dancing, fire
and the devil can't take you to disco nirvana, and you can't even
muster up a snicker for Dick Valentine's witty and ironic lyrics,
then maybe you need to just straighten your tie and get right on back
to writing your right-wing treatise on kicking puppies and blowing
up the world.
Señor Smoke is Electric Six's follow up to Fire,
their 2003 release that spawned the well known hits "Danger!
High Voltage," "Gay Bar" and "Dance Commander."
You can still hear "Danger!" these days in commercials for
the DVD of America's favorite po-faced philanderer and home-wrecker,
respectively, "Mrs. And Mrs. Smith," but if it raises the
band's profile then that's cool. Señor Smoke was actually
released in the UK in February of 2005, but the band only recently
signed with a label that agreed to release it here in the States.
The good news is that if you liked Fire, you'll probably like
Señor Smoke as well, although the overall tone of Señor
Smoke is not quite as much of a party as Fire. Still, there's
plenty on this album that keeps me from being reduced to Sammy
Hagar to get my speeding kicks. "Rock And Roll Evacuation,"
"Devil Nights" and "Bite Me" start it off on a
high note, and "Dance Epidemic" and "Vibrator"
keep it up. In between are some less engaging numbers, such as "Jimmy
Carter" and "Dance-A-Thon 2005," but hey, some people
even love "Jimmy Carter" and ask for it in concert, so maybe
you'll like it too. The album ends with my personal favorite, "Future
Is In The Future," which contains the quintessentially E6 lyrics
"I'm a man/not a disco ball." You wouldn't necessarily know
it if you didn't really listen, which is part of what I like about
this band - you can pick the level on which you want to listen to
them. Want to focus in on the weird desperation of human existence?
Just listen to the lyrics. Just want to dance? They're right there
for you.
Electric Six kicks off a U.S. tour in February in support of this
album, and I can't recommend highly enough that you get out and
see them. If you like their records you will LOVE them in their
full and the tiniest bit scary live glory.
-Heidi Lamer
Track Listing:
1. Rock And Roll Evacuation
2. Devil Nights
3. Bite Me
4. Jimmy Carter
5. Pleasing Interlude I
6. Dance Epidemic
7. Future Boys
8. Dance-A-Thon 2005
9. Be My Dark Angel
10. Vibrator
11. Boy or Girl?
12. Pleasing Interlude II
13. Radio Ga Ga
14. Taxi To Nowhere
15. Future Is In The Future
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