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Teriyaki Suplexxx
You wanna hear some Japanese rock? You wanna hear the underground stuff, none of this Puffy Ami-Yumi fluff? Then this compilation is what you've been waiting for. And who better to uncover these gems than Peelander-Yellow of the infamous comic book samurai noodle punk band, Peelander-Z?! These personally-selected tracks range from garage to pop-punk, experimental to straight-up rock'n'roll, and are sure to please fans of J-punk and those not as familiar with this scene. Featuring tracks from the wild boys of Electric Eel Shock and The Birthday Suits to the sassy ladies of The Prambath and Portugal Japan, this comp will hit you like wasabi peas and go down smooth like some warm sake. TRACK LISTING
::REVIEWS:: Despite releasing material by moderately well-known punk bands like Enemy You, Intro5pect, and Toys That Kill, Geykido Comet (or GC) Records has remained one of the best-hidden secrets in punk rock. In fact, when I first ran across "GC Records" on Punkvoter.com in 2004, I wrote them off due to some phantom association with Good Charlotte. Now that may have been just because I was young and stubborn, but it may have had something to do with the highly esoteric nature of their releases. Case in point, Teriyaki Suplexxx: A 2007 Snapshot of the Japanese Underground. As the name implies, the probability that even a well-versed North American punker has heard of a single band on this 22-song compilation is slim (despite the fact that a number of the Japanese bands are based in Europe, Australia, and the U.S.!). Bands like Rocket Jack Vaders, Space Kung-Fu Man, Coloba Milk Bar and Electric Eel Shock populate the diverse collection that spans across multiple styles and genres. Female-fronted pop-punk dominates the first few songs, with London's Mika Bomb chopping together the catchy 'n' cute "Shut Ya Mouth." The highly repetitive "Bastard" by Electric Eel Shock follows, with a dance-rock beat and enough zip-zapping sound effects to make pushing the skip button a tough sell. Australia's Mach Pelican deliver far and away the catchiest song on the comp, as their Ramones-influenced pop-punk is the perfect concoction of hooks and air guitar-inspiring riffs. The aforementioned Coloba Milk Bar imparts the funky bass and scratchy power chords of the Minutemen, while Dynamite Club speeds through the 46 seconds of "12 Questions for the Psychadelically Impaired" with abnormal timing and battling dual vocals. With the spazz-out instrumentalism of Mong Hang's "Og A Rachue Po," Teriyaki Suplexxx seems to hit the very bottom depths of the proverbial "Japanese underground." The electro-pop of Jean Paul Yamamoto's Lolita widens the chasm, possibly overshooting the album's target (or at least inevitably punk-based) audience. The most unfortunate track -- though one of the best musically -- is the 2005 song "Twin Cities Bridges Are Falling" by Minneapolis' Birthday Suits, which could not have gained exposure at a worse time. While the 2004 me would have dismissed such an
obscure release as Teriyaki Suplexxx for not having the eye-catching
names of established acts, the 2007 me is excited to discover new
music in the form of Japanese artists like Mach Pelican, Jet Boys,
and Mika Bomb. Sure, it may take a couple more listens to get into
than the Bouncing Souls or Lifetime, but it will be that much more
rewarding to find a new beloved band in an unexpected place. Twenty-two band Japanese comp compiled by one
of the members of the band Peelander-Z. Out of the twenty-two bands
on here, I recognize one and that was Peelander-Z. So if you are
not heavily infatuated in Japanese bands that are basically underground,
you probably won't recognize a single band. The comp seems to focus
primarily on pop punk, garage, and noise. A lot of bands here feature
female vocalists. There is also a hip hop track on here. So, if
you are looking for your new Japanese band to be obsessed with and
the music presented here is one of interest, this comp is worth
a purchase and a good, hard listen. It's funny -- in the years of publishing Verbicide
I have received surprisingly few CDs by Japanese artists. However,
the albums I have received are usually solid -- bands such as Electric
Eel Shock (featured on this compilation), Akiakane, and Peelander-Z
have maintained lengthy stays in my "high-rotation" CD
piles over the years, and I once had the pleasure of seeing Peelander-Z
live. The experience was nothing short of amazing, and included
human bowling, giant foam props, and the band swapping places with
audience members mid-song until the entire band was watching three
strangers playing their riffs. Lo and behold, one of the members
of Peelander-Z ("Peelander-Yellow") is among the driving
forces behind this release on GC Records, as he has hand-selected
a whopping 22 tracks, from 22 different underground Japanese bands.
The bulk of the CD is high-energy pop-punk that actually is more
reminiscent of the original pop-punkers (the Ramones, duh) than
most American bands sporting the pop-punklabel can pull off. Track
seven, "You are Lukewarm, More Blitzkrieg Bop" by Jet
Boys is a highlight and a Ramones tribute of sorts, and the CD really
hits the stride in the middle with some exceptionally heavy tracks,
including the garage rock tune "Aufheben" by Coloba Milk
Bar, the 45-second "12 Questions for the Psychedelically Impaired"
by Dynamite Club, and the hard-hitting, rage-filled metal-punk blast
"A Blade Pen Ripping the City" by Spanam, which is my
personal favorite on the disc. There is also lo-fi screamy surfer
rock (Ed Woods), bizarre art-punk/noise (Mon Hang, Panicsmile),
and plenty of the unexplainable (Midori, holy shit). And, of course,
the CD is capped off by Peelander-Z with "Sayounara!"
-- as it turns out the tracks is nothing more than them saying "sayounara"
which doesn't give a first-time listener a real taste of this incredible
band, but they have a DVD coming out soon on GC, so just get that,
and see them live before you die, they're an essential bands to
experience in the flesh (and foam). |
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