The 6ths
| Company type | Musical ensemble |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Founder | Stephin Merritt |
| Products | Studio albums, singles |
| Website | www |
The 6ths is a musical ensemble formed by Stephin Merritt, who is best known as the chief composer and multi-instrumentalist behind The Magnetic Fields, The Gothic Archies, and Future Bible Heroes. Merritt composed and performed the tracks, each featuring a different guest vocalist. This initiative resulted in two acclaimed studio albums along with several collaborative works.
Releases
The group issued two albums: Wasps' Nests (1995, released on Factory Too through London Records) and Hyacinths and Thistles (2000). Prior to Wasps' Nests, a 7" vinyl single titled "Heaven in a Black Leather Jacket" was released in 1993 on Merge Records. This single included "Rot in the Sun," sung by Merritt himself, which later appeared on his 2011 compilation Obscurities.
The band's name and album titles intentionally serve as tongue-twisters, chosen for their heavy use of s and th phonemes; the word sixths uniquely contains one th sound and three s sounds within a single syllable. According to the band's official site, The 6ths represent "every lisper's nightmare."
Wasps' Nests showcases prominent indie-rock vocalists from the mid-1990s era, including Barbara Manning, Mary Timony, Dean Wareham (associated with Galaxie 500 and Luna), Lou Barlow, Chris Knox (Tall Dwarfs), Robert Scott (The Bats, The Clean), Georgia Hubley (Yo La Tengo), and Mark Robinson.
Among the distinguished contributors on Hyacinths and Thistles are Bob Mould, Sally Timms (The Mekons), Sarah Cracknell (Saint Etienne), Neil Hannon (The Divine Comedy), Gary Numan, Marc Almond, Momus, Clare Grogan (Altered Images), Melanie Safka, Miss Lily Banquette (Combustible Edison), Katharine Whalen (Squirrel Nut Zippers) as well as toy piano performer Margaret Leng Tan. This album also includes a duet featuring singer Odetta alongside author Daniel Handler playing accordion.
The track "Falling out of Love (with You)" from Wasps' Nests was featured on the 1990s children's television series The Adventures of Pete and Pete. Two songs from Hyacinths and Thistles, namely "You, You, You, You, You" and "As You Turn To Go," were included in the movie Pieces of April as well as its soundtrack composed by Merritt. Additionally, "You, You, You, You, You" was employed in Google's 2016 advertisement for the Pixel phone.
Their composition "Night Falls Like a Grand Piano" was interpreted by South African band Wonderboom on their 2003 release titled Tell Someone Who Cares.
Albums
- Wasps' Nests (1995)
- Hyacinths and Thistles (2000)
Singles
- "Heaven in a Black Leather Jacket" b/w "Rot in the Sun" (7" single) (1993)
External links
- Official website at The House of Tomorrow