What are the things that Six By Seven make?
i) A lot of noise and screechy guitars
ii) Pop tunes mixed with layered guitars
iii) More noise
iv) One of the albums of the year
v) Even more noise
vi) Jolly good entertainment.
Are there any other bands which fit all 6 of these requirements? Very
possibley. Mogwai make noise and albums-of-the-year, but lack pop tunes.
Countless bands write classic pop but without noise.  So why choose Six-By-
Seven? Perhaps because if one band has made an impact this year, it is them.
And impact is the right word. Oh yes, plenty of other bands have done well
this year. Catatonia have emerged from obscurity to top status, Scotlands
finest pop-punk export Idlewild seem to be doing fine for themselves, and all
in one year. But have any of them made an IMPACT. No. Six By Seven have. A
massive, smoking crater in the surface of music. The asteroid of noise-guitar
crashed to earth with this album and is sending shock waves through the music
world, shaking up indie and flattening bubble-gum pop producers.
"The Things We Make" is a simple concept to grasp. Guitars build up, layer by
layer, over steady beats. There is the odd saxophone or organ here or there.
Eventually the whole song swells into a mass of noise. Vocalist Chris Olley
normally ends up screaming over the racket behind him as the band trash
everything in the most amazing way possible. Music like this just hasnt
happened before. It is easy to say "Aha- what about Sonic Youth?" but they
never captured energy like this on record.
It could be the all out pop of "For You" and "Candlelight", the rising heat of
"Oh! Dear" or the dark and disturbing ?-92-96", but any track you choose
just grabs you by the heart, rips it out of your chest and shoves it down your
throat- with music.
A band that doesnt fear using noise to its advantage- Six By Seven add the
most unusual sounds possible, whenever possible. "European Me" is a fine
example- The song starts with Sam Hempton's guitar whirling like an air-raid
siren before exploding into what sounds like a radio being detuned at maximum
volume.
The only complaint could be the bands over indulgence. Some people may find
the length of the songs hard to get easy with. Others wont mind that some
tracks are nearly 10 minutes long- but for some, it can be boring. From
another perspective, it would be hard to condense the majesty of some of the
tracks into 3 minutes.
As Chris Olley groans during the opening track "The things I make/ They have
no use/ But they have the most beautiful shape". Ah, they sure do Chris.

Credit: ProDelgado@aol.com  a.k.a.  Ben Jones