(Tarantula)
If you've never heard The Lot Six, their third album is a good place to start. With popular bands like The Strokes and The White Stripes becoming more and more stale, their fans are left waiting for a fresh new twist on muffled rock. The Lot Six provides this and more in as they blend traditional rock 'n' roll, punk and trendy garbled bass and vocals.
On , the Boston quintet immediately establishes a masterful fast-paced fusion of dominating punk drums and rock 'n' roll riffs that they largely sustain throughout the album.
But each song also maintains a level of individuality. Piano, trombone, imposing guitar distortions and abrupt call-and-response vocals are interspersed throughout the album to give each song its own flair.
The only problem has in maintaining a reasonably unique voice ironically lies in its vocals. Lead singer David Vicini's questionable identity mix-up with better-known Jack White results in vocal projections that at times match White's right down to minute inflections.
The Lot Six diversify the album by experimenting outside of rock/punk, like trying slow ska in \Go to Sleep."" For the last two tracks, The Lot Six goes all out in pursuit of mastering two polar opposite sounds. ""My Baby's Gone"" proves the band can handle a slow, blues-inspired melody without sounding like an altogether different band. However, testing new genres doesn't always serve them. The last track ""Die Polizei,"" a short, fast-paced and painful, screamfest, ends the album on a sour note, despite impressive guitar and drums. Other unfortunate tracks break up the album's flow. ""What a way to waste my time"" is, in fact, a complete waste of time. The album's sixth track lacks quality vocals as the few lyrics that are actually decipherable (""What a way to waste my time"") drag with emptiness.
But overall, impressively incorporates punk into old-fashioned rock and roll played with old-fashioned riffs. succeeds at this upbeat combination without sounding busy or confused. Though Vicini's lyrics are seemingly superficial, they are of the welcomed stick-in-your-head-all-day breed and compliment the band's unpretentious style.
-Emily Winter
