It’s a pleasure when I get stuff like this, it really is. And first I have to commend Moon for making the daring move of actually signing SB6 – this isn’t meant to be an insult in any way whatsoever, it’s just hard to see how they fit in with…well, pretty much any other bands right now. There isn’t even a great deal of actual ska on the EP, it’s a mix of raga, hip hop, d ‘n b, punk rock and a smattering of skacore – like putting the Notting Hill Carnival in CD form. I get the feeling SB6 will become one of those “I heard them before you did†bands because their sound is so distinct and challenging. And a hella good ride too.
The frantic opener ‘Blood For Oil’ has already gained national airplay on Radio 1 and the most striking thing about anyone’s first exposure to SB6 is the vocal style of their frontwoman Laila – for an illustration of this, when I played this to a mate he said “I thought you hated Mis-teeq?†and while this falls some way short of the mark, it does demonstrate the ‘rudegirl’ (I fucking hate that term but it’s all I could think of) tone of the singing. The track has its roots in Capdown-esque skacore but with a pulsing guitar line that sits flush with the pounding drumming that switches between the dancehall and the moshpit. The politically-motivated lyrics strike at the heart of a general sense of discomfort with the current environment and don’t sound clichéd or recycled. Extremely promising.
But then SB6 go and change everything with ‘People Act Like They Don’t Know’ which comes off like King Prawn accentuating their ska influences with the almost Ms Dynamite-ish vocals over the top. It’s here that the versatility of the band really shines through, with inventive lyrics being the only constant since the music style just keeps flicking around with apparent disregard for convention. It’s almost tiring trying to keep up, and even though it may sound like they’re just chucking in anything they can find, not once does it sound like a cheap stab at trying something different; rather a statement that they’re going to do what pleases them and sod trying to stick in one genre. And that’s to be applauded.
‘The Devil Made Me Do It’ does stick more to one theme both lyrically and musically (over indulgence on all things ‘stimulating’ and fast-moving skacore) and manages to be more than the sum of it’s parts with the emphasis on the sax and pulsing bass line driving the body of the song forward at breakneck pace, while still holding a surprise towards the end with the different vocal style moving away from the rapid to the more contemplative singing, giving the impression of a bigger, more expansive sound that just tirelessly displays this band’s imagination and talent.
Is that a bit of bhangra underneath ‘Silent Majority’? Must be townie music! Or not. It’s getting a bit tiring trying to describe every facet of SB6’s music, simply because there’s so much in there – I’m sure some of the riffing in this last track is almost 5 Knuckle in tone – and chances are, if you’ve got this far you’ll probably be open to them and their musical message. The lo-fi remix at the end of the CD just reminds you how many tricks they have up their collective sleeves (big band – many arms – many sleeves) and while it’s not going to be up EVERYONE’S alley, it is something fresh that should give a lot of bands a good kick up the arse for being so fucking derivative. So kudos for SB6 for doing what they want – it’s not the finished article, but did you really expect their first release to be perfect? It’s damn good, and with a bit more self-control they have the potential to be mentioned in the same breath as Ye Wiles in terms of innovative genius.
Ben