2007 is a huge year for Japanese new-wave band Polysics. Not only does it see the release of their tenth (depending on how you count) full-length album Karate House, but it also marks the band's tenth year together. They have launched several successful mini-tours of America and the U.K. to larger and larger groups of rabid fans, and have played to massive crowds in Japan. Karate House broke into the Oricon Top 30 and out-sold their previous album Now is the Time in its first three weeks. While the band's sound has shifted subtly over the years from an all out wall of synth-punk noise to a much more restrained pop mentality, do not be fooled. There is still much your ears have to fear from Polysics.
01. Watson / 02. Electric Surfin' Go Go / 03. New Wave Denwa Soudan Shitsu / 04. Catch On Everywhere / 05. Hard Rock Thunder / 06. Idai Narou Zunou / 07. Zoo Birdman / 08. Jinsei No Hai / 09. Cyborg Kanojo / 10. Akai Master / 11. Yume, Ichikomi / 12. Professional Tennis / 13. Always Happiness / 14. Shizuka is a Machine Doctor / 15. You-You-You / 16. Polysics Or Die!!!!
Karate House showcases some of the best and not-so-best qualities of Polysics.
The best: It contains all of the usual Nord-generated lo-fi glitches and soaring electric melody from Kayo, Fumi's furious bass-lines, Yano's relentlessly pummeling drums and Hiro's spazz guitar and spazzier vocal work. (I say "vocal work" because quite often he's screaming, chanting, or just spouting gibberish. Polysics is a great band for anyone afraid of bands singing in a foreign language. Poly-lyrics are a mish-mash of English, Japanese and what Hiro calls "space language" that is sent down from above into his brain. There's something here for everyone to be confused by.) While these elements have always been present in their music, it has gradually been cleaned up over the years. Their punk spirit is still there, but their desire for mainstream pop acceptance is showing more than ever. Not that this is entirely bad. Songs like "Electric Surfin' Go Go," You-You-You" and "Always Happiness" are pop masterpieces with a spine, something that is woefully missing from 99.9% of the candy-coated fluff that usually fills the charts. (And let's not forget "Baby BIAS," possibly the best pop song ever written, that appeared on Now is the Time!. Now there is a song that could have sold a million copies outside of Japan if handled correctly.)
The not-so-best: While Polysics have been busy trying to break into the pop world, some of what made Polysics Polysics in the beginning, namely their experimental spirit and abrasiveness, is downplayed. There are still plenty of head-scratching time signatures and dissonance, but the elements that would have been pushed to the front in the early days are now set far back in the mix as mere sonic filler for the more obvious hooks.
Much of this change in sound can be attributed to one thing: playing live. Polysics has said that they worked out the songs for Karate House in a much more live way, "by doing jam session," even working out ten songs in five days. This goes a long way toward explaining the new Polysics sound. The songs are often stripped down to their bare essentials, showcasing the members' incredible proficiency as players over the usual layers of synth noise and sound effects. This is most obvious on "Hard Rock Thunder" and "Shizuka is a Machine Doctor," two songs that are balls-out rock and roll. The process falls flat a few times, too. "New Wave Denwa Soudan Shitsu" and "Zoo Birdman," while OK songs, just seem like filler on an album otherwise polarized by pop gems and rock craziness. There are some excellent "traditional" Polysics tracks of course. "Idai Narou Zunou" features the trademark time signature complexity and call-and-response vocals between Hiro and Kayo. "Professional Tennis" is an all-too-short shout fest between Hiro and Yano in between squeltchy synth bursts and a bizarre trumpet solo. Then there are the truly weird tracks, "Watson" and "Polysics or DIE!!!!" which open and close the album respectively. "Polysics or Die!!!!" is an obvious homage to Devo's "Jocko Homo," with its band name spelling-out (using a Speak-n-Spell) and similar extended time signature.
With a total of sixteen tracks, some might think that Karate House is either too long or full of filler, but they'd be wrong on both counts. The album is still rather short, and it more often than not features some of the best material Polysics has recorded. It does have its low points, but that can be said of any album. When you have a band as prolific as Polysics, releasing a full-length album every year as well as several singles with unique non-album B-sides (which are sometimes better than the A-sides!), you often have to take a couple dud tracks along the way. Even the weaker tracks, when judged on their own merits, are full of energy and an obvious attention to detail. Polysics are many things, but lazy is not one of them. All told, Karate House may not be the best Polysics album out there, but then again, it would be difficult to label any Poly-album as "best." They all contain a wide range of styles, and they all have their ups and downs. What never changes is the high quality, originality and genuine sense of fun from start to finish. Their albums often feel more like a simple collection of current songs than individual bold statements. More like "here's what we have right now" than "here's what we have to say." People looking for profound introspection into the human condition would do better looking elsewhere. For a true new-wave, new-pop, new-rock thunder, you can do no better.
For those who are new to what Polysics is all about, the best place to start is with their videos. They are a very visual band, and their videos usually do an excellent job of capturing the spirit of the band, as well as their crazy live performances. Here are a few choice examples:
New Wave Jacket
This one is from their third (and my personal favorite) studio album ENO. It's a great example of just about everything Polysics: vocals from both Hiro and Kayo, awesome vocoded voices, and a look into their unique pop rock sensibility.
Electric Surfin' Go Go
This was the first single from Karate House. It was a great choice as it presents the straight-up pop direction that the album favors.
Hard Rock Thunder
This is a return to the original 1st P Polysics sound, although, like everything else on Karate House, it's a lot less noisy.
Keroro Gunso OP / You-You-You
This is the version of "You-You-You" used in the anime Keroro Gunso. I really like how they obviously made the animation just for the song.
Hiro Gear #19
Hiro has his own TV show in Japan, called "NEU!" I've yet to see the entire show (if anyone has a recording of a full show I'd love you forever if you can send it my way), but there are many of these gear demonstrations up on YouTube. If you're into guitar effects and synths, then you'll love these. This is my favorite, so far.
That's just a brief look into the world of Polysics. They've managed to keep their own unique identity despite the high pressure to conform to more traditional sounds. Sure, they've matured, but they are still pushing the limits of new wave rock. They are gradually working their way into the mainstream, subverting it from the inside. They are at a critical point in their career. It will be quite interesting to see where they go in the next ten years.
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