Search - Registrators :: Sixteen Wires

Buy this without hesitation

Edgar Barrington | Chicago | 05/06/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I agree with the adjacent review -- this is one of the best records I have ever heard. In a just world this band would be rich and famous. Very late 70's new wavey punk. If you had to compare it to a specific band I'd say the Buzzcocks, because of the songwriting, melodies, and production, but I hate to compare it to anything because it's more than a recreation of a past era -- this record could not have come out in the late 70's because it's the work of a band that looked that time over and dropped what was bad and accentuated what was good, making something new. For example, phaser guitar. No punk band today has the guts to use phaser guitar, but the Registrators pull it off with a sense of fun yet not actual irony and it sounds great -- and would of course be irrelevant if the song itself wasn't great. These songs are great.The drums do this amazing thing where the drummer is almost playing ska -- I know that's a bad word now and believe me nothing on this album comes close to being ska, which is what makes playing that way so great. This hi-hat is so loud and dirty -- he uses it is a crash cymbol half the time and the other half does this amazingly pleasing scraping on the offbeat that creates an effect I've not heard elsewhere.The bass is insane. No one in a punk band plays like this guy. He's all over the place, and it's so melodic and good it makes the song half the time.The guitars play great leads and lots of the choppy scrapy stuff I love.Oh, and the background vocals sound like girls, often. Lots of well-placed ooohs and ahs.Lastly their mangling of the English language is wonderful. Forgive me if I'm being culturally insensitive -- they speak English 100 times better than I speak Japanese -- all I know is when they make "Sensitive Spot" into "Sensi spa" I can't help but enjoy it.My friend figured out that 16 Wires probably means 6 strings on 2 guitars (12) + 4 on bass = (16). I love that the cover looks like a techno record.If you read this far give up, give in, and buy. These songs are fast, fun, and good. If that's not appealing stick with I don't know, Radiohead."