Mighty Six Ninety

It's not often one encounters a neo-post-punk band named after a radio station that in its late-'70s/early-'80s heyday would have nothing to do with the original genre or anything else not immediately Top 40. Whatever the exact reason for the nomenclature, Mighty Six Ninety make a nice splash with their debut, a promising if not overly original album. Partially what catches the ear is the sense that they draw on some of the less name-dropped acts of brisk '80s alternative rock -- lead singer Richard Gardner has a sweetly melancholic air to his singing that suggests bands like Anything Box or For Against, while the gliding beauty of the arrangements exchanges nervous tension for elegant power. The descending chorus of "Mistakes Like These," shifting into a frazzled end, or the sweet falsetto after the staccato verses on "Unknown" are two of many examples of how Mighty Six Ninety works their arrangements excellently -- one gets a ready sense that the band knows how to work a crowd. At a few points their roots show a little too strongly -- one song, "With Me," is such a fusion of the Cure's "Pictures of You" and "A Letter to Elise" that they might as well have had Robert Smith come in and perform the lead guitar and be done with it ("Never Go to Sleep" does a better job at invoking the Chameleons without fully sounding like them). If inevitable comparisons can be drawn with more recent explorers in the general sonic approach, things are a little more promising all around compared to some (and Gardner alone beats the heck out of the outrageously horrible Brandon Flowers, which counts for much in this, our cruel world). [Invisible DJ's 2008 edition included three bonus tracks and new album art.] ~ Ned Raggett, All Music Guide