Major Fables

With the spark and intensity of the Pixies, Boston's the Lot Six blazes through ten fiery and eccentric art punk tunes on Major Fables. The rocket propulsion of "Autobrats" is as much Pussy Galore as it is Surfer Rosa, and this points to the Lot Six's greatest strength — the ability to combine the best of influences into a cohesive but eclectic mix. Sure, Black Francis may occasionally show through a little too much on songs like the incendiary post-punk "No UFO's" (though, man, it's a good tune), but it hardly overpowers the uniqueness of the album. "I Was You," after all, is like a '70s piano pop number, the cleverly titled "X-Rayted" is gritty garage rock, and "My Baby's Gone" is straight-up melancholy alt-country. What does this add up to? A formula (namely, variety and live-wire intensity) that the band used on their previous releases (Gwylo and Animals), but that they really take to another level with Major Fables. By the end, it makes the Lot Six (along with the more challenging TV on the Radio) one of the most thrilling bands of the Boston rock scene.