To follow their previous album and collaboration with Carnival in Coal “The Stench from the Swelling (A True Story)” (2013), this Parisian band’s latest work also falls further into the twisted avant-garde sphere with recognisable rock metal melodies. As someone put it: “Experiencing a 6:33 album is like being on a bad LSD trip playing a Devin Townsend album while watching Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride”. It’s as intriguing and dynamic as it sounds.
You just know it’s a mickey take when it starts with gospel music. But it’s ok, as it quickly turns into who knows what? An upbeat, toe-tapping extravaganza not unlike Diablo Swing Orchestra is what “Hellalujah” is, only outdone in its vivacious style later on by the equally vivacious and even more eccentric “Black Window”. The fun of the jazz swing fair continues with “Eye Fandango”, another fast and bouncy irregular journey, helped again on its way by the bizarre structure and the harmonies. It’s strange and ghoulish, pumping and heavy. Energy abounds. As it slows, we are taken to a dreamy world. 6:33 have a sense of swing and unbridled imagination and are not going to let rules or boundaries get in the way.
Irresistible beats are also part of the 6:33 portfolio. Tracks like “Last Bullet for a Gold Rattle” are just unstoppable with their invigorating, mobile and happy sound – shame it ended so quickly. “The Walking Fed” has the same hypnotic quality but its infectious beat is laced by creepy and crawly vibes. Groovy all the way, it made me spontaneously twist and turn. It’s decidedly oddball as is everything about this album. The vocals on “The Walking Fed” have an air of Dr Hook about them but there are high pitched and relatively normal vocals and anything that’s odd, really. The bizarre scenes call Atrox to mind, but the thing I can’t get out of my head are those swinging beats, upset routinely by waves of ghastly and gripping weirdness and funky electro cyber jazz as we hear on the title track, which at one point takes us through a grotesquely dark story via an unstoppable Latino groove. “I’m A Nerd” should really have been called “I’m a Nutcase”. Straight out of the mad house, oompah metal is the backdrop for screams, delicate moments and a lunatic fringe convention. Lah-lah-la-la-lalala … I’m going doolally too. “I’m a Nerd” has no pattern yet it’s a good pop song – is that allowed? Then there’s a rich and vibrant sound at the end. The energy is cut off at a stroke, as we’re sent to an automated telephone message where someone’s account details are read out.
Bam-bam-bam, the plot is lost once more, as “Modus Operandi” makes no sense, yet the swaying song, the harmonies which are to chilling and eccentric effect throughout, the sound of the carousel at the fairground and the dark goings-on around it all add intrigue. After the heavy and powerful “Lazy Boy”, the album finishes with the substantial title track, which through its narrative and typically theatrical passages of music takes us across various scenes of flamboyant expression and freakishness.
“Deadly Scenes” is brash, unpredictable, funny and entertaining. It’s both vaudeville and dark but I take my hat off to 6:33 for turning such absurdity into an unmissable musical feast
(9 /10 Andrew Doherty)
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