After 14 years and 7 studio albums, "over the top" doesn't even begin to describe
Electric Six
. Despite an ever-rotating lineup,
Dick Valentine
and company have consistently put out some of the most uninhibited, bombastic, and downright fun
dance-rock
to get a dancefloor moving, and
Zodiac
is no exception. A change of pace from the amps-to-11
rock
fest that was
KILL
,
is a more nocturnal affair, with less focus on intensity and more dance grooves. Like the title of the opening track,
"After Hours,"
implies, this feels more like an album to keep the party going at the after-hours club than one you'd use to light the fuse on an all-night rager. The smooth sax of
"American Cheese"
and the twisting synths and
disco
beat of
"Jam It in the Hole"
are the perfect soundtrack for any late-night gathering, giving listeners something to get down to without grabbing them by the collar and throwing them into a dance frenzy, giving the album a more casual, laid-back feeling than some of thre group's earlier work. Lyrically, frontman
is as amazingly irreverent as ever, delivering lines like "In the writings of the Druids, lies a recipe for Druid fluid, sounds like a most refreshing drink to me" on
"Clusterfuck."
Valentine
's lyrics are delivered with a rigorousness that seems like it's meant to assure the listener that the only thing the
take seriously is having fun. It feels good to know that someone out there is fighting for our right to party. ~ Gregory Heaney