Electric Six, 'Kill'

Danger! The Detroit rockers behind 'Gay Bar' create another disposable set of party anthems

By Kirk Miller

Metromix

Release date: October 20, 2009
Record label: Metropolis
Official Web site: http://www.electricsix.com/

The buzz: Another year, another Electric Six album. Six years after the singles “Gay Bar” and “Danger! High Voltage” created a buzz, the Detroit party rockers return with their sixth full-length album—and one that does little to differentiate itself from the previous five records. Take that how you want.
 
The verdict: “These songs don’t write themselves/I’ve got a magic workshop run by elves,” insists E6 frontman Dick Valentine at one point, and that sounds about right. This is assembly-line Electric Six, with each song the same mishmash of disco, New Wave, garage rock, soul and metal guitars that you’ve grown to love/hate over the years. The Frampton-esque “One Sick Puppy,” the Casio-punk of “You’re Bored” and soon-to-be-frat-anthem-in-the-Midwest “Escape From Ohio” are the standouts, the blue-collar synth-popper (!) “I Belong in a Factory” and ballad (!!) “Steal Your Bones” are not. You’re better off seeing all of this live anyway, which is where the band really shines.
 
Did you know? The video for “Body Shot,” the first single off the album, is a weirdly animated/live-action NSFW boobfest…but only “hot” if you’ve got a fetish for the heavy-set and/or grandmas.