 |
|
Electric Six, "Dance Commander"
XL
The Electric Six are most definitely a singles band. Admit it, as muchas you pretend to hate their trashy, sleazy hard rock disco, "Danger!High Voltage" got your ears perking and ass moving. So the LP wasn'tspectacular, but hey, you try keeping up the amphetamine laced worshipof fire, dancing, and the night for over a half hour (Please do notrespond with personal anecdotes of how you did this last solstice). Ifanything, the Dance Commander single will redeem the band to those who found themselves somewhat disappointed in Fire.Though "Dance Commander" is one of the better LP tracks, and anexcellent choice to stand on it's own as a single, it is the other twotracks that truly make an impression. The first is "I Am Detroit," ageographical conversation between said city and other notable locales,inviting them to tango on the dance floor of America. Luckily, theElectric Six is just the band with enough misguided confidence and zealto adopt the personification of an entire city and start makingdemands. It's a rhythm heavy rocker that will please both head boppersand hip shakers alike. The third track is a remix of "Dance Commander"by Soulchild that annihilates the original version. Gone are theoverbearing hard rock guitars, replaced by a jangly, rhythmic staccatostrum and layers of synthesizers. This is the type of music that makesthe Electric Six interesting, relentlessly danceable, musically daring,and totally pulling off their attitude, that seems to amount to "we'reso fucking serious about not being serious." With the new beat, thebest aspects of "Dance Commander" become more apparent, and when singerDick Valentine growls out "I went to the store / to get more / FIRE /to start the war!" it is utterly convincing, and phrased soexcellently. The Electric Six know what they like, and they're veryclear about it. "It would be awesome if we could dance" Who cares ifit's not deep or profound. It would be awesome if we could dance, and this single goes a long way to fulfilling that desire.
The Electric Six are most definitely a singles band. Admit it, as muchas you pretend to hate their trashy, sleazy hard rock disco, "Danger!High Voltage" got your ears perking and ass moving. So the LP wasn'tspectacular, but hey, you try keeping up the amphetamine laced worshipof fire, dancing, and the night for over a half hour (Please do notrespond with personal anecdotes of how you did this last solstice). Ifanything, the Dance Commander single will redeem the band to those who found themselves somewhat disappointed in Fire.Though "Dance Commander" is one of the better LP tracks, and anexcellent choice to stand on it's own as a single, it is the other twotracks that truly make an impression. The first is "I Am Detroit," ageographical conversation between said city and other notable locales,inviting them to tango on the dance floor of America. Luckily, theElectric Six is just the band with enough misguided confidence and zealto adopt the personification of an entire city and start makingdemands. It's a rhythm heavy rocker that will please both head boppersand hip shakers alike. The third track is a remix of "Dance Commander"by Soulchild that annihilates the original version. Gone are theoverbearing hard rock guitars, replaced by a jangly, rhythmic staccatostrum and layers of synthesizers. This is the type of music that makesthe Electric Six interesting, relentlessly danceable, musically daring,and totally pulling off their attitude, that seems to amount to "we'reso fucking serious about not being serious." With the new beat, thebest aspects of "Dance Commander" become more apparent, and when singerDick Valentine growls out "I went to the store / to get more / FIRE /to start the war!" it is utterly convincing, and phrased soexcellently. The Electric Six know what they like, and they're veryclear about it. "It would be awesome if we could dance" Who cares ifit's not deep or profound. It would be awesome if we could dance, and this single goes a long way to fulfilling that desire.
