No overdubs. In an era when even many supposedly live albums have the rough spots smoothed over in the studio, that's not a phrase you see every day. It's not really a strange idea, of course-- for ages, all music was recorded sans-overdubbing. But the recording revolutions of the 1960s changed the way things were done to such an extent that it became a rarity for musicians to record their takes simultaneously, opting instead for the illusion of pitch-perfection and impeccable timing.

I think this is one of the reasons that The Way I Feel Today, the third album from Nottingham, England combo Six by Seven, sounds so refreshing. Recorded live in the studio, without a single overdub, the album has an urgency and unpolished energy that most music simply doesn't possess. Whittled down to a quartet with the departure of guitarist Sam Hempton, Six by Seven sound hungry, focused and ready to blast your internal organs into a mushy pulp.

They can mash away for all I care, because for the most part, the band's assault hurts in a very good way. They're at their best when the throttle is all the way forward, drummer Chris Davis flailing with Animal-esque intensity and Paul Douglas' bass throbbing just above him. The two are a potent rhythm section, falling somewhere between the shoegazer drone of Ride and the brawling catharsis of classic UK post-punk.

The album opens on a deceptively clean note, with James Flower's repetitive piano figure and Chris Olley's vocals floating above. "Last night I thought I heard you/ Stepping through the door/ You and me were so beautiful/ It must have been a dream," he gently intones as an unsettling organ enters, setting up the line, "You know they really screwed you up before you tumbled down," which is repeated as the song ramps to its climactic explosion of dirty guitar. The band's fusion of noise and melody has never been more seamless than it is here, and Olley is shaping up to be not only a fantastic vocalist but also a remarkably effective slash 'n' burn guitarist.

The band have an obvious single on their hands in "I.O.U. Love" (assuming, of course, that the world doesn't mind being re-fed The Church's "Under the Milky Way"-- which they probably should), a propulsive, organ-soaked confection that shelves the noise in favor of jangle and vocal harmonies. "All My New Best Friends" backs off from the noise even further, with Olley picking on an acoustic guitar and Flower providing texture with his organ and surprisingly tasteful synthetic string sounds.

After the first three songs, it's tempting to believe the band are softening, but any such inkling is immediately obliterated by "Flypaper for Freaks," a larynx-shredding punk onslaught that I found dangerous to drive to. "I never promised you shit" shouts Olley as the whole band crashes in at once. And from here, the album never looks back. "Speed Is In, Speed Is Out" is rocket-fueled, fire-spitting rock and roll, while the wall of organ and distorted guitar in "Karen O" rides a pile-driving beat so tight it can only be looped.

"American Beer" is built on a droning organ and shoved forward by raw drums. The track builds in intensity as the guitar gets louder and Olley's vocals morph from resigned and melodic to ragged and angry. Each line he sings seems to make him more enraged, until the anger finally gives at the end and he and the band return to resignation.

The band missteps a bit in the album's final quarter, allowing "Cafeteria Rats" and the droning title track to trail on for a bit too long, but in their own rights, these are effective songs, despite being less immediate than the two-minutes-and-change punk eruptions that comprise the album's most gripping moments. However, the band roars back with a vengeance on the pummeling closer, "Bad Man," which recalls the opening one-two punch of "Eat Junk Become Junk" and "Sawn-Off Metallica T-Shirt" from 2000's The Closer You Get.

The final impression one gets from the album is that Six by Seven must put on one hell of a live show if they're capable of sounding like this without any help from post-production add-ons. They're obviously very well-rehearsed, as there's not a discernable mistake anywhere to be found here, but the music benefits immensely from the spontaneity inherent in live performance. The fact that Chris Olley delivered these vocal performances in uninterrupted takes is impressive, too, as he makes a case for being one of the best singers going in today's rock world. This band obviously has a lot of steam in them-- let's hope they blow some more of it off on another record soon.

-Joe Tangari, July 29th, 2002