Six Finger Satellite

How's this for irony? Six Finger Satellite got their record deal with Sub Pop by sending them a demo in the early '90s that was, well, Sub Pop-esque (read: Grunge). The Rhode Island quartet got their deal, but the label didn't get what they expected. SFS sound more like a synthesizer-obsessed Big Black than they do Nirvana or Mudhoney. This is why the band, at its best, is so intriguing: they take the jerky, edgy, paranoid and de-humanized vision of Gary Numan and marry it to the cathartic roar of the Jesus Lizard. No-nonsense, crashing drums propel the songs as singer J. Ryan rants about everything from babies having rabies to men transmogrifying into apes, occasionally beating up a defenseless Moog in the process. The guitarist delivers chunky, deliciously distorted riffs, only to nonchalantly step to the keyboard and lay down a line that could very well be lifted from a Soft Cell B-side. Six Finger Satellite are a raging, noisy beast that reveal both their robotic side and a strong sense of humor.