View source for The 6ths

{{Short description|American musical group}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name                = The 6ths
| image               = 
| caption             = 
| background          = group_or_band
| origin              = 
| genre               = [[Indie pop]]
| years_active        = 1993–2000
| label               = [[Factory Too]], [[Merge Records|Merge]]
| website             = {{URL|http://houseoftomorrow.com/6ths}}
| current_members     = [[Stephin Merritt]]
}}
'''The 6ths''' was a band created by [[Stephin Merritt]], also the primary songwriter and instrumentalist behind [[The Magnetic Fields]], [[The Gothic Archies]], and [[Future Bible Heroes]]. In the group, Merritt wrote and played songs which were then sung, in most cases, by other artists—a different artist on each track. It produced two well-received studio albums and many different collaborations.<ref>{{cite web|url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=the-6ths-mn0000034287|pure_url=yes}}|title=The 6ths|work=[[AllMusic]]|publisher=[[All Media Network]]|first=Richie|last=Unterberger}}</ref>

==Releases==
The two albums the band released were ''Wasps' Nests'' in 1995 ([[Factory Too]] via [[London Records]]) and ''Hyacinths and Thistles'' in 2000. ''Wasps' Nests'' was preceded by a 7" vinyl single of album track "Heaven in a Black Leather Jacket" in 1993 on [[Merge Records]] that contains a B-side, "Rot in the Sun", sung by Merritt himself. The song was also later included on Merritt's ''[[Obscurities (Stephin Merritt album)|Obscurities]]'' compilation in 2011.

The names of both albums, as well as the name of the band, are deliberate [[tongue-twister]]s.  The words are chosen for their abundance of ''s'' and ''th'' sounds; ''sixths'' alone packs one ''th'' and three ''s'' sounds into one syllable. The band's website refers to the 6ths as "every lisper's nightmare".<ref>[http://houseoftomorrow.com/sixths.php The 6ths home page] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100914195014/http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/sixths.php |date=2010-09-14 }}</ref>

The list of singers on ''Wasps' Nests'' includes many notable mid-90s indie-rockers, including [[Barbara Manning]], [[Mary Timony]], [[Dean Wareham]] ([[Galaxie 500]], [[Luna (1990s American band)|Luna]], [[Dean & Britta]]), [[Lou Barlow]], [[Chris Knox]] ([[Tall Dwarfs]]), [[Robert Scott (musician)|Robert Scott]] ([[The Bats (New Zealand band)|The Bats]], [[The Clean]]), [[Georgia Hubley]] ([[Yo La Tengo]]), and [[Mark Robinson (musician)|Mark Robinson]].<ref>[http://houseoftomorrow.com/sixths_cd_wasps.php House of Tomorrow Wasps' Nests Track List] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718153228/http://houseoftomorrow.com/sixths_cd_wasps.php |date=2011-07-18 }}</ref>

Some of the more notable artists appearing on ''Hyacinths and Thistles'' are [[Bob Mould]], [[Sally Timms]] ([[The Mekons]]), [[Sarah Cracknell]] ([[Saint Etienne (band)|Saint Etienne]]), [[Neil Hannon]] ([[The Divine Comedy (band)|The Divine Comedy]]), [[Gary Numan]], [[Marc Almond]], [[Momus (artist)|Momus]], [[Clare Grogan]] ([[Altered Images]]), [[Melanie Safka|Melanie]], Miss Lily Banquette ([[Combustible Edison]]), [[Katharine Whalen]] ([[Squirrel Nut Zippers]]) and the accomplished [[toy piano]] player [[Margaret Leng Tan]]. The album also features an improbable duet of singer [[Odetta]] accompanied by ''[[Lemony Snicket]]'' author [[Daniel Handler]] on accordion.<ref>[http://houseoftomorrow.com/sixths_cd_hyacinths.php House of Tomorrow Hyacinths and Thistles Track List] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080305232946/http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/sixths_cd_hyacinths.php |date=2008-03-05 }}</ref>

"Falling out of Love (with You)" from ''Wasps' Nests'' was featured on the popular 90's children's show ''[[The Adventures of Pete and Pete]]''.

Two songs from ''Hyacinths and Thistles'', "You, You, You, You, You" and "As You Turn To Go", are featured in the movie ''[[Pieces of April]]'' and its accompanying [[Pieces of April (soundtrack)|soundtrack]] by Stephin Merritt. "You, You, You, You, You" was featured in [[Google]]'s 2016 pixel ad.

Their song "Night Falls Like a Grand Piano" was covered by South African group [[Wonderboom (band)|Wonderboom]] on their 2003 album ''Tell Someone Who Cares''.

==Discography==
===Albums===
*''[[Wasps' Nests]]'' (1995)
*''[[Hyacinths and Thistles]]'' (2000)

===Singles===
*"Heaven in a Black Leather Jacket" b/w "Rot in the Sun" (7" single) (1993)

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100914195014/http://www.houseoftomorrow.com/sixths.php Official website] at The House of Tomorrow
* {{Allmusic|class=artist|id=p143701|label=The 6ths}}
* {{MusicBrainz artist|id=f65498b7-5c06-4bb5-801d-885595fc8bcc|name=The 6ths}}

{{Stephin Merritt}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:6ths}}
[[Category:Musical groups from New York (state)]]
[[Category:Factory Records artists]]
[[Category:Merge Records artists]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1993]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2000]]