Dance, Dance, Revolucion!
Electric Six’s latest effort, Señor Smoke, is a good example of what the band have referred to as their “total entertainment solution:” a mix of AC/DC stadium riffs and Devo-like keyboards over infectious dance grooves that sound like the best damn disco/rock mash-up ever. Frontman Dick Valentine sings across this 70’s inspired landscape like a deviant Neil Diamond, snarling like Axl Rose with Jack Black’s comedic timing. From the start, this album is about having fun in all its incarnations: sex, dancing, fast-food and rocking out. Señor Smoke won’t change the world but it could become your next guilty pleasure. Upon first listen, Señor Smoke sounds absurd, but in the best possible way. Electric 6 lay down some serious grooves but their lyrics are rife with inside-jokes, double entendre and non-sequiturs about Presidents, Karate and The Jacksons. “Devil Nights” begins with “satanic” backwards loops but ends up the tastiest disco groove since Wild Cherry. “Rock and Roll Evacuation” is an irresistible, energetic rocker while “Jimmy Carter” is an improbable anthem about, partially at least, The Backstreet Boys.
The comedy wears thin in spots and the low moments feel pointless and nonsensical, but Electric 6 lay it down with so much conviction and insanity that you can’t help but have a good time. Señor Smoke will make you want to dance like Travolta, rock like Jimmy Page, and get Farah Fawcett wasted on cheap booze at the roller rink. Not only is that a good thing, the guys in Electric Six would probably approve. So, next time you’re planning a party that involves drinking, girls, dancing and mayhem make sure this record is in the mix.
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