Main menu
Fretplay home Submit tabs

Electric Six
Electric Six tabs Electric Six discography

Channels
Guitar channel Bass channel Guitar videos Reviews

Message Forum
Guitar forum Bass forum Bands and artists Promote your band Recent discussions All categories

Fretplay.com

Electric Six guitar tabs

CD reviews

Switzerland

Electric Six - Switzerland Audio CD

A fair review of the Electric Six "Switzerland" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Electric Six reviews here, or go back to the Electric Six tabs.

Band: Electric Six
Title: Switzerland
Rating:

Release Date: 2006-09-12
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: The Band In Hell 2: I Buy The Drugs 3: Mr. Woman 4: Night Vision 5: Infected Girls 6: Pulling The Plug On The Party 7: Rubber Rocket 8: Pink Flamingos 9: I Wish This Song Was Louder 10: Slices Of You 11: There's Something Very Wrong With Us, So Let's Go Out Tonight 12: Germans In Mexico 13: Chocolate Pope

A Welcome Change of Pace
The second album, Senor Smoke, changed things up a little bit, but was on the whole a less consistent album than the first. Electric Six's first album, Fire, laid the groundwork for each album to come. With the third album, Switzerland, Electric Six had moved on to a new label in which they would find more freedom than before. Without the pressure to make certain "radio hit" type of songs they were able to let their expression run free in the studio. I think this really shows on the album as they go in some directions that they have never done before.

The first noticeable thing to an Electric Six fan is that there are no songs with any form of the word Dance in the title which is a staple of most of all the albums previous to this and most after. That doesn't mean they have lost their sense of fun or their groove, but it does mean they tread new lyrical ground here which is a plus.

The album starts off with a slow bluesy song about the band in hell, which features Hitler on drums no less! Then they venture into what I feel is a more pop territory then they had ever done with I Buy The Drugs. For me this song really works and signified a turn to songs that are more keyboard/synthesizer driven. Slices of You is classic fun both lyrically and musically and Infected Girls has the type of chorus that makes Electric Six so fun. I think overall this is one of the strongest Electric Six albums without a weak track in the bunch.

Here are some lyrical highlights from the album:
" Increase the power [increase it!]
To a higher level
I like you better when you're possessed by the devil" From Infected Girls

"White DJ of Detroit
Black MC in Toyko
White girl in a black blockbuster video" - From There's Something Very Wrong With Us So Let's Go Out Tonight

"I'm late for dinner but look who's on the menu
'cos when I get a table you know damn well I get a table for two
Preheat the oven so you cook in your pants
I trained at the very best kitchens in france
My service is slow and I hope this doesn't offend you" From Slices of You.

E6 keeps on going strong...

If you're not familiar, the Electric Six are a band that pokes fun of big dumb rock (and dance) while playing big dumb rock (and dance) songs. Electric Six once again gets mad points for finding new ways to stretch their musical muscles and release another album full of songs that are still interesting and catchy a long time after they've stopped being funny (and usually they are very funny). Kinda like Ween, or Spinal Tap, or the Dictators, or Tenacious D (though it'd be unfair to say that the Electric Six SOUND a lot like any one of those bands).

And, like all those bands mentioned above, their songs that rip on the genre are often times just as good if not better than the very music they are making fun of.

"Switzerland" continues this tradition, but while the two previous albums (the excellent "Fire" and just as excellent "Senor Smoke") found the band playing some dance oriented music as well as (and sometimes combined with) their big bombastic rock, "Switzerland" is mostly about the rock.

Sure, some tracks are dancey ("Infected Girls" grooves along nicely) but most aren't meant to be danced to, and instead we get a fresh serving of rock that kinda reminds me of mid-90's Urge Overkill.

The songs are pretty darn great though, opening with the lounge of "This Band In Hell" (where Hitler plays the drums). Elsewhere, we get the cow-punk of "Pink Flamingos" (featuring the lyrics "Cause I'm a woman eating monster/With a suitcase full of fire") and the semi-disco of "Slices of You" (with the AWESOME spoken word part "And everywhere I go, people ask me, 'Valentine, whats your recipe for love?' And my answer's always the same, 'Cook the hell out of it. . . and SLICE it!'").

As you may have noticed, the lyrics are NOT to be taken seriously. But again, it'd be a big mistake to brush these guys off as a novelty band, the songs are way too catchy, with too many well penned musical and vocal hooks, to be considered mere novelty. This is a band where the MUSIC comes first and the jokes come after.

So if you like good 70's FM style hard rock with some other sub-genres poking in here and there, "Switzerland" is a great album. I'd give it 5 stars if the last three tracks were better, but 10 winners out of 13 sure isn't bad.

I leave you with one last lyric (from the coulda-been-an-awesome-Journey-song "Night Vision):

"You can come and see me/But I don't glow in the dark/So you're gonna have to learn to use a little night vision. ".

One of Detroit's best
I've seen them live twice and they are amazing. Electric Six is one of my favorite bands going right now. I own all their albums and I recommend them to all my friends. They are still fairly underground, but they have a following - and anyone who likes them is a loyal fan.

This album is a blast. "I Buy the Drugs" is a great track and you'll quickly find yourself singing along to it. This is a different line-up (except the singer) than was on their debut, Fire, but they still knock it out of the park.

E6 is a band worth checking out, and if they are playing anywhere near you - go see them. You will not be disappointed.

Just Okay
"Senor Smoke" was mostly forgettable, and their latest offering, "Switzerland," is slightly better than its predecessor but still suffers from sounding too much like one long in-joke. This band had a really strong debut album ("Fire") but has been running out of gas ever since.

It seems that the Electric Six is doomed to have all their albums compared against their first one, but I guess that's the price of proving how good you can be from the outset, and then failing to deliver the same standard after that. Admittedly, "Fire" was kind of a long in-joke too, but they balanced out the silliness with such infectious metal/pop that it worked some kind of magic on the listener and compelled you to dance. The later discs are much more pop-oriented, and without that metal edge they're starting to sound more and more like Weird Al Yankovic. That's not a good thing.

Step it up, boys. We know you can sound more dangerous than this.

Buy this and all their other albums ASAP.

Buy their 1st and 2nd albums as well, "Fire" and "Senior Smoke", both as good if not slightly better than "Switzerland". These guys are still flying under rock n' roll's mainstream radar, but I'm not sure for how much longer, so get on board and support Electric Six.

.

You can see a complete list of all Electric Six discography, or go back to the Electric Six tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.