You know Melt Banana, right? Their guitarist has SARS. Doesn't ring a bell? They're arguably the best Japan has to offer in terms of good no wave music? They had a split with (what used to be) everyone's favorite grind-core band The Locust a little more than a year ago? The split was despised by fans and critics alike? Still no? Okay, forget it. The important part is that you're reading this review and paying attention . . . all five of you.
There are a lot of things going on in this album. Whether you're listening to the sound of a plane taking off or to some scream-like sound that's been through the meat-grinder of a mix-board, you can always remember that it's Melt Banana you're listening to. In between the odd screechings of each instrument, you can find some fast beats and something for (almost) everyone to enjoy. If you don't like Yasuko's authoritative and yet, endearing voice, then maybe you'll like Agata's well-displayed array of phaser-gun sounds and distorted shrieks coming from his guitar. If you don't like that, bite me.
All right now, for the two of you still reading this, I'm going to give you a little suggestion: if you want to get a feel for the CD through just one song, that song is "Like a White Bat in a Box . . ." Among other things, this song demonstrates the band's abilities in multiple ways, but more importantly, it sums up the album as a whole: there are times to rock out, there are times to listen to weird noises and there are times to pause before a rock out.
Even if you haven't listened to Melt Banana before, you can almost be sure of the fact that this is no-wave at its best. Maybe this album isn't Melt Banana's tour-de-force, but it's definitely worth the twelve bucks.
P.S. - I bet a majority of you skipped the review for the most part and went straight for the rating.
