54-71

Tight. Tight. Tight! Of the many things one can say about the band 54-71, "tight" has to be first and foremost. Ostensibly a stripped-down rap group, they are in fact a full band. Not to mention a tremendously powerful one. Sure, they might not be huge and thundering with their amps turn up to "meltdown," but they nevertheless pack one hell of a punch.

First off, the rhythm section. Well, the entire band, including vocalist Shingo Sato, is the rhythm section. Together the play in absolutely perfect lock-step. Stripped down with zero frills added to the production, every creek and pop is brought to the front, leaving no room for error. Think a slow-motion Melt Banana. As funky as they are tight, the band grooves hard and long while Sato screams his angry diatribes over the top of it all. Without his scratchy and nearly incomprehensible delivery, 54-71 might be mistaken for a much softer, almost lounge outfit. The music isn't what brings the pain, it's the vocals, for as tight and precise as the band is, they are also smooth and almost mellow. The pounding kick-drum throws off any chance for a relaxing evening, but otherwise there's little to offend in the instrumental department.

In fact, just about every song throughout the band's long discography (they've been playing since 1997) sound very much alike. 54-71 is not about innovation or evolution. That's probably the point, as albums are often structured to blend together from song to song. From one jazzy phrase to the next, the songs flow as smooth as the vibes. The tension is high and the landscapes sparse and grim throughout, with only the very rare Primus-like upbeat track here and there. For the most part, it's kick, snare, bass and a jangly, clean channel guitar with an equally dry and raw vocal track. Over and over, like a fist returning to a face.

The band has, unsurprisingly, won universal appeal, playing gigs with America's Deehoof and Battles. They even recorded their 2008 album I'm Not Fine Thank You, and You? in Chicago with none other than studio great Steve Albini.

BUY 54-71 RELEASES HERE!

Ugly Pray



Official Site
MySpace

Members:
Shingo "Bingo" Sato - Vocal
Kentaro Kawaguchi - Bass
Hiroyuki "Bobo" Horikawa - Drums
Takuya "Duke" Takada - Guitar

Albums:
54-71 (1997)
54-71 (2000)
Untitled (2000)
Reprise (2001)
Enclorox (2002)
True Men of Non-Doing (2003)
All Songs Composed & Performed by 54-71 (2004)
54-71 (EP, 2006)
I’m Not Fine, Thank You. And You? (2008)

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