artist: ni‐hao!
title: NO RESPECT
format: CD / Digital
keywords: alternative cheer punk experimental hardcore indie japan japanese math rock punk Sydney
label: tenzenmen http://www.tenzenmen.com/
For some reason I was expecting some heavy punk rock, but I became happily surprised by the happy madness that was a ass wiggling worthy expression named ‘The Takasago ChainSaw Massacre’. My Japanese language skills are as good as below zero, but luckily the band makes sure the title is pronounced as clear as it could be. It is also brought in a way that it made me believe that I might have been a next victim in a chainsaw accident. But luckily the ears aren’t cut off and listening to the fanatic sounding album is not cancelled by an involuntarily partake in a bloodbath.
The chainsaw macabre was strangely hip-hop-ish, perhaps that’s not the genre; but it made me hip and hop from one leg onto the other. Not even to avoid a chainsaw, but more in the form of an poor attempt at dancing. But when the next tune kicks in my legs are being slaughtered by the predicted punk sound. Distorted guitars, active words that I’m unable to understand the meaning off and quite frankly it’s a quick energetic shot in the right direction. I’m definitely awake and this all girl band is probably even much more awake than I have ever been before. Short tunes of raw material gets catapulted from my speakers straight into my ears. When a 48 second tune named ‘Make it’ gets fired it feels like an army of punk cats are meowing while stealing the gold fish that had been swimming in a bowl nearby. I hope they made it into something eatable and ‘ate it’.
Internet Junkie stirs away from cat like vocals but isn’t sounding stiff or robotic ether. The band is performing their music on instruments that sound like flame throwers instead of guitars, and even though that might hurt a little, it doesn’t hurt too much to send in a complaint; it’s obviously pretty much needed to get the fire of music spreading.
More short tunes follow, from Spider 8 (that clocks a 26 second time span) to Spider 9 (32 seconds of awesome at your service!). It is clear that this band (even open for alternatives) is keeping the punk tradition of the shorter the tune the better high up in its honor.
Then LAX TO NRT follows, a tune that seems to take it more slow, yet gruesome in its execution. It’s a stepper for a hungry punk dinosaur to walk and step around on, while the vocals of these sensible human beings responsible for this music carefully craft their words around it. Nobody gets crushed or eaten and thank Goth for that as otherwise we might have missed out on the awesome sounding surprise named ‘mess you up’.
ni-hao! will mess you up!
This is a total Trojan horse for dance club and radio lovers. It’s an electronic track with everything you could expect in such a work. A 4 x 4 beat, a wobbling synth baseline, a small visit of an acid element. Of course the band has perfectly setup to hide their punk statements into the electronic production, clearly making it a track that might mess with people their brains, especially if this is the tune that made then decide to get the album for. Also good to note is that the fun here is in the English language; even messing more with the heads then you could imagine.
Then there is ‘Always Half’ which really neatly gives us half electronic and half a rocky punk vibe. It’s something in between, something indeed sounding like somewhere in a half state. The vocals are getting a colorful monkey feel, making it one of these tunes that you feel like attempting to sing along while scratching your own head simultaneously.
More fun and straight to your face is the contagious DO WANNA (DO罠). It has everything to be happy about; from the crunchy guitars sounding all over the place, a softly crushing beat rumbling in the ears like a potent energy drink, and the vocals that simply do wanna do!
It’s clear that the album here swiftly turns here in the contagious energetic fun madness epicenter. This becomes very apparent while enduring セグウェイ (Segway). It’s like a happy roller coaster ride, clean cut and ready to hype you even more up for what’s more to come. Hands up in the air and a spontaneous looping for a wicked celebration of madness!
The ‘Can’t Stop’ is one hell of a pleasure, the girls are making clear that they can’t stop, and I as a listener feel the need to clearly say that I don’t want them (and especially this tune) to stop! What an energy, the band is on the loose; ready to jump and happily destroy a corrupt system with enough joy to make your anarchistic guts smile. This is awesome!
The album keeps us all guessing and on the edge, a place full of unclear surprises basically. Somehow the release pops in some other hip-hop rap material with a track named ‘Crib in my closet 2 feat.onnen’. The electric beats are rolling, the raps are tight like spandex fitted with super glue and it somehow seems to work very well between the complete different sounding material on this record.
A thing that keeps surprising, which is also that keeps the interest and replay value high. つみきの (TSUMIKI NO) is one tune that has a steady fat beat and seemingly seems to combine good humor with a nasty rock vibe and a menacing piano. It totally feels like the material to play on repeat and drive your friends and neighbors mental with.
Also interesting is the choice to insert a live recorded track on this collection of tracks. It really sounds super wild & nasty, and the recording quality even helps to make it even sound nastier. It’s a great ball of energy that your ears can obtain here, and probably a tune a venue should check out before booking this canon of destruction into their clubs. This is insanely wild and so much fun!
黒魔術のショウタイム (Under my Spell) is next and starts with an effective hypnotic bass and get sooner followed by an incredible sharp sounding harsh cutting electric guitar. The vocals are seemingly unfazed and just dibble along like the chatter of every day. If that isn’t insane enough, the girls also bring laser like effects to the weirdness that only gets more edgy when they make sure everyone knows it’s ‘show time’…
With a last word on ‘not enough’ this heart attack of an album has raced itself out of my speakers, leaving me in a state of what the fuck has happened and let’s hear the whole thing again! I think that the great power lays not only in the awesome fun attitude of this band, the wild action and the energy that it all is so rich off; but actually because of its unpredictability and openness to not give you what you think it will give you! Time is racing by quick with an excellent album like this! Check it out over here:
http://tenzenmen.bandcamp.com/album/no-respect
<KN>
Yeah I Know It Sucks 