THE SCARAMANGA SIX - "STRIKE! UP THE BAND"
WRATH RECORDS WRATH CD07
Written by Ronnie Kerswell

Sometimes we can't help judging a book (or CD!) by it's cover, and the Blair Witch-esque set of peepers looking out from this sleeve gives no indication of the strutting, arse-out garage-rock-with-a-twist that is The Scaramanga Six aural bombardment. And when they 'Strike! Up The Band' it's with Hendrix in mind, as 'The Wrath Of The Mighty' recalls the classic stabs of 'Crosstown Traffic' until things get altogether more sinister. Y'see, these individuals may just as well have met in an asylum - their tunes twist and turn with guitar eccentricities and lunatic Moog injections, and are as raw as scraping your knuckles on a cheese-grater. There's the seemingly straightforward 'Bane Of My Life' or the clap-rock of 'Too Cool For Skool', but underneath there's a seething underbelly of madness!. Step aside The Hives and co - this is retro-rock with panache!

7/10