Okay. Here’s the thing. We can all appreciate something that sounds even a little bit different than what we usually get from Merge. This album is different. I like that. Sixth House isn’t whiny and sounds like real rock, a lot less moaning and fewer ‘recorded on a laptop next to my dead aloe vera plant’ vibes – a nice switch up in my opinion. It’s also nice to have an experienced band in your local mix, but the vibe of this album is almost too gentle. Rock*A*Teens has been around since the 90’s so of course their sound has changed some, but they rocked way harder in their earlier stuff.
Besides being kind of underwhelming, the sound is also kind of confusing. The cover screams indie and makes me think of someone with long hair singing about crying and then starting to cry while singing. I wasn’t expecting to hear a dad voice when I first popped in my headphones.
Sixth House sounds kind of like if Tom Petty was backed by a younger band that started off in a garage but upgraded while still holding on to their grunge roots. It’s almost jammy. Or jammish. Laid back with little to no frill, Rock*A*Teens is a respectable group. But if I had it my way, they would have stuck to their original sound and gone a little harder on these newer tracks. Sorry! Try again next time!
– Music Librarian