Sixty Stories
““Anthem Red””
(Smallman Records)
Besides the Weakerthans and Propagandhi the punk scene in Winnipeg has been unbeknownst to me. With the of late surge of melodic punk entering popular American music circles it’s definitely the time and the place for bands such as Sixty Stories. After a couple of spins it became painstakingly obvious to me that if it wasn’t for Pinkerton this band wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. My hat is off to the band for recording and mixing the album themselves on blown studio monitors. Sixty Stories can honestly tell anyone that they made “Anthem Red” for themselves and that is commendable.
There are a couple of real gems which honestly are mixed in with filler. My favorite track is the instant classic “First Bell” because of the catchy computerized opening and really fuzzy guitars. Lead singer Jo Snyder (who is also the guitarist of the trio) has a little trouble hitting and maintaining some of the higher notes, but her sometimes obviously flat vocals are a testament to their pop-punk mentality which I think are perfect for this band. Jo has this really sexy “I’m a punk princess” aura about her music and style that probably drives the guys in Canada wild (fuck Avril Lavine). Funny enough, to me “Second Hand Table & Chairs” sounds more like Weezer than Weezer has since the late 90s.
