They do this thing in Scandinavia. They take basic American guitar driven music and they make it better. Listen to the Hellacopters “By the Grace of God” or Turbonegro’s “Ass Cobra” or the Hives “Veni Vidi Viscious” or Entombed’s “Left hand Path” or… well you get the idea.

Whatever they do, one of the results is damn near perfect execution of energetic American style Rock, whatever the subgenre. Which is why when I hear a new band sound like they have all the tools to lay down some fast edgy punk ‘n roll with bluesy sonic precision, my first instinct is “This sounds really fucking good. They must be from some village in the forests of northern Sweden”. I’ve been fooled a few times by American bands. When first hearing The Bronx and Doomriders comes to mind. However, it’s clear that for the past few decades or so, those of us on this side of the Atlantic have been getting our asses all the way kicked by our friends on the other side of the pond. Decatur, IL might be as far away from some remote Scandinavian village as you can get, but when you first listen to the Rolling Sixes new EP, those leather clad European bands that have perfected the art of American Rock n Roll are front and center, signaling that maybe…just maybe… there my be hope yet for good old fashioned midwestern punk rock.

Continuing the tradition that they started with Decatur’s Soy City Stranglers, guitarists Cliff Collier and Dan Cordray crank out up-beat bluesy punk jams that are dripping wet in Fender and Marshall tones in front of drummer C.J. Sixx’s fast crank ratchet drums. Long time Soy City Stranglers vocalist Billy Fury, fresh off a period of focusing on acoustic performances, put his well rested vocal cords through the shredder adding his snotty vocals to the three song EP, recorded and mixed by longtime Soy City Stranglers collaborator Quincy Watson at Frequincy Recording. Sonically, Watson hit the nail on the head with the mix, which is not a huge surprise for those Soy City Stranglers fans who have been paying attention. All in all, this three-song EP leaves me wanting more….which, lets be honest, is exactly what I want to come away feeling if I hear a new band. Three songs. All bangers. In and out in a little under 12 minutes. Instead of the all too often result of Snake Eyes when hearing a new band’s first offering, if only more bands in the US would apply the fundamentals that Rolling Sixes have seemingly perfected in this EP, there may well be hope yet for future of American Punk Rock N Roll. -JWS