Search - Electric Six :: Switzerland

Third Time Excellent...

Quentin Stark | Las Cruces, NM United States | 10/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've liked Electric Six since I saw their Danger! High Voltage video on TV. I love both Fire and Senor Smoke, although I think Fire is the better of the two -- S.S. is more varied, and has some fantastic songs (Bite Me, Jimmy Carter, Be My Dark Angel and Vibrator) but has some duff tracks, like the redundant and unwelcome cover of Radio Ga Ga. Fire is more one note, but there isn't a naff number on the album.



Switzerland has both Fire's high energy and Senor Smoke's range of styles and all the songs are great. They're accessible and catchy from the first hearing. They have Valentine's eccentric lyrics -- sometimes subversive, sometimes bizarre, often amusingly puerile -- and the musicianship and instrumentation are never less than solid and occasionally rise to brilliance. So far, my favourite track is I Buy the Drugs (nice, dirty baseline, rousing hooks and thoughtful instructions), but the others aren't far behind.



It's too bad that five stars are all there are..."

Absolute magic!

Dan Jensen | Gold Coast, Australia | 10/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ah, Electric Six. Their energy, their humour, their originality. I love this band so much. 'Fire' was just such a disco-rock-metal-whatever blast, with plenty of songs that weren't trying to tell us anything other than, to quote from 'Spinal Tap,' "have a good time all the time." The follow-up, 'Senor Smoke,' was still a great album, but a little more serious in tone than 'Fire.' And that wasn't a bad thing, mind you. Dick Valentine is so magnetic that you can't help but listen to him. Whether he's belting out lyrics that make no sense, or telling us his views on politics and the US government either on the surface or subliminally. And even when he is standing on his soap box he still does it with humour and style. 'Jimmy Carter' is a perfect example of that.



In my opinion 'Switzerland' is a bridge between the two predecessors. It shares both the funky rock of the first, with a touch of the second album's poignancy. I'll admit, it took me a couple of listens to get right into it. Upon my first listen I couldn't help but think it wasn't as good as 'Fire,' but that's just because I'm a little biased towards that album. But now I cannot stop listening to it over and over. It's got me hooked, and I would put it on par with 'Fire' as their best album so far. Even the bonus track that we got as an Australian/NZ exclusive is pretty good, and I usually don't care much for remixes of songs. And I just love that they're going to release a video for every song on 'Switzerland' - no matter how cheap and crappy they may be.



Electric Six have still got it. Something I can't say for too many other bands on their third outing!"

Weakest so far but still awesome!

C. O'Keefe | Atascadero, CA | 11/29/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I looove Electric Six. I saw them at the Key Club in LA in March and Dick Valentine looked totally plastered. He was hilarious. Did push-ups and sit-ups on stage. There was so much energy though it didnt matter that he kinda sucked singing on Dance Commander. That's the power of Dick. But on to the review: I can't decide whether Fire or Senor Smoke is my fave, but I know that Switzerland isn't. I like it, it's still a great album but it lacks something the first two had. Maybe E6 decided they wanted a larger fanbase and tried to change their sound to get new fans. Lyrically it's just as brilliant as the others: Sarcastic, tounge-in-cheek sexy, sometimes even politcally poignant, and way funny. Musically, while often catchy, just wasn't as up to par as usual. There are some greats here though, like I Buy The Drugs, Mr. Woman, Infected Girls, Pulling The Plug On The Party and There's Something Very Wrong With Us... and the short Chocolate Pope is classic. Overall they just don't rock as hard this time around. That's okay though, I'm still in love with them."