Search - Half Japanese :: Sing No Evil

1 of 4 of my favorite HJ albums.

Chris bct | San Diego, CA USA | 12/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Firecracker Firecracker, On The One Hand, Too Bad About Elizabeth, Dearest Darling, Double Trouble, Nicole Told Me, I Have A Secret, House Of Voodoo, Ball And Chain are each HJ masterpieces, particularly Double Trouble and I Have A Secret. All of these songs posses the power that HJ can generate in a way that no other band does. I'll never understand how they can go along, individual musicians, each playing the same song but on their own path, barreling along making a beautiful noise that is rock and jazz and avant-gard and psycho something all built from well written songs. Normally, I care little about lyrics but these guys know how to get good humor and emotion both in love songs, which is say, over 50% of HJ songs, and in songs of anger. Their lyrics, when they're on target, and that's for each of the 9 songs listed above, make for half of the listening pleasure for me because they are intense, in their declaration of love or whatnot. And in unorthodox ways. Nobody sounds like these guys. Even Jad Fair's solo or duet albums don't come close to the brilliance of these HJ albums. All I can say is, the more of them the better. And, if you've discovered you like HJ, be sure to get this along with Music To Strip By, The Band Who Would Be King and Charmed Life. (...)

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