Somewhere between the raw edge of Zazen Boys and the upbeat party atmosphere of The Telephones lies Nagasaki's Usotsuki Barbie. Formed in 2002, the three piece band has only released a couple of short EPs, first in 2007 then another in 2008.
Just as jarring as their angular, slightly bluesy yet firmly art-indie sound is their odd appearance. All three members have very long, equally angular hair. At first glance it almost looks like they're wearing wigs, and maybe they are, but a look at their long locks in action certainly makes it look like the real thing. Add to that their loud, thrift-store clothes and clashing patterns and you start to get a hint of their '90s style alternative style. Finishing it off is their eccentric playing. Singer and bassist Yuusuke Iwashita plays his bass right up at his neck and slouches over a mic placed far too low for his lanky body. Guitarist Kazuya Chifu insists on sitting in a chair on stage and flails around as if his skin is crawling with bees.
All of this goes well with their music style. The guitar work is extremely staccato, almost a stuttering pizzicato at times, while the bass walks all over the place and the drums march along. All of their stuff is very peppy and upbeat, and it's obvious that they're all doing their best to project all of their physical energy into the tracks. There aren't really any obvious hooks or simple melodies to be found. Instead they tend to gravitate more toward dissonant new-wave structures and off-kilter tempos.
Their playful sense of fun and general weirdness makes to hard not to be drawn in. While they probably won't be hitting the top of the charts any time soon, they definitely have a lot to offer those listeners with a thick skin and a willingness to decode some of their more obtuse songs.
[Thanks to Scott and Matthew for the name help!]
やわらかヘンリー
Official Site
Members:
Yuusuke Iwashita - Bass & Vocal
Shigeru Toyoda - Drums
Kazuya Chifu (maybe Toshiya Chifu) - Guitar
Releases:
子供の含みぐせ - 2007.03.07
増えた1もグル - 2008.01.17
どろろどっきんぐ
2 comments:
Great band, they just recently had a new album out on Nov 19.
Side note: I couldn't help but noticed that you don't have UNLIMITS on your site. You should definitely look into them, great rock with female vocals.
Thanks for the tip crackerjack! I'd really like to hear more from these guys.
Also, I'll look into UNIMITS. I'm pretty sure I've heard them before. Thanks!
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