Reviews written by Greg
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February 12, 2003 Garage band rebirth
On previous albums, Bugy Craxone followed the '90s alt-rock textbook to the letter -- Nirvana-like dynamics, Garbage-like pouty singer, Butch Vig-over production. But with "Northern Hymns", the Hokkaido-based trio do away with all the excess and transforms itself into a garage band. "Northern Hymns" displays a rage unprecedented by the band. Suzuki Yukiko snarls on the opener "Fuck the Melancholy" while guitarist Oikawa Tsukasa bashes out dissonant chords worthy of Number Girl's Tabuchi Hisako. Amazing.
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February 12, 2003 Mellow ... sort of
Fifteen years ago, bloodthirsty butchers were like any other indie rock band -- loud, brash, messy and good enough to eventually win over Fugazi and Beck. But 15 years is a long time to screaming all the time, so for its seventh album, "yamane", the butchers get mellow ... sort of. The songs on "yamane" tend to wander in the mid-tempo range, sprawling to as long as nine minutes. Coupled with the Yoshimura Hideki's dischordant guitar playing, these epic songs venture into aural territory staked out by the likes of Number Girl and Sonic Youth. But the butchers charmingly messy performance grounds the music to the band's indie roots.
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Shinryoku (Japan Ver.)
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November 5, 2001 IntrospectiveA supergroup of magnum proportions, AJICO is definitely more than the sum of its parts. UA's husky vocals feel totally at home with the neo-psychedelic songwriting of ex-Blankey Jet City member Asai Kenichi. TOKIE, formerly of rap-rockers RIZE, and UA's touring drummer Shiino Kyoichi lock into Asai's thorny groove, playing around the beat while grounding the band's music. "Fukamidori" (which the band states is the proper reading of the album's title) is a haunting, introspective collection. Although Asai has been accused of sounding like a strangled ferret, his vocals sound positively charged when UA plays Grace Slick to Asai's Bob Dylan. (So to speak.)
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November 5, 2001 So straight and slow
It's not often that band can master being loud and slow at the same time. fra-foa recognizes that a sonic slap in the head that doesn't necessarily need to pump a listener's heart rate. "Chuu no Fuchi", or "Abyss of the Universe", is an intense album. Mikami Chisako's soul-bearing performance feels almost embarrassingly raw, her sweet voice turning into a harsh growl time and again.
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TEAM ROCK (Japan Ver.)
November 5, 2001 EclecticBetween four-on-the-floor dance beats and heavy doses of alt-rock guitars, Quruli makes a case that rock and electronica are not merely exclusive. The trio's third album, "Team Rock", throws in a bit of digeredoo and Dixie rhythms to shake things up, but when it comes to writing a good song, all this band needs is a little help from Supercar's Miki (on "Bara no Hana") and an "Imagine"-esque song about Curry ("Curry no Uta"). In a word, eclectic.
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