Search - Shonen Knife :: 712

Ultra-eccentric super cult punk band SHONEN KNIFE!

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 05/10/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Among the artists I got into during my NMSU years and compliments of Spin magazine was the Osakan trio Shonen Knife, consisting of guitarist Yamano Naoko, her sister Atsuko on drums, and bassist Nakatani Michie. Those into anime or manga will know Shonen means youth (male). So when I heard that Oglio Records had reissued SK's first four albums, remastered with bonus tracks, I was excited. What I didn't know was that 712 (1991) was their fourth album. Well, the first song here was called "Shonen Knife" so I assumed. Call them goofy power-pop/punk, as some of what they sing are silly. They sing mostly in Japanese, with "Rain," "Luck of the Irish," "Faith Healer," "Redd Kross," "White Flag," "Expo `90" and "Fruit Loop Dreams" sung in English.



The aforementioned first song is a rap song built around ELO's "Don't Bring Me Down," though the pulsing bass beat makes it sound more like the Bowie/Queen number "Under Pressure." They sing of their musical influences and the pre-millennial tensions of the ozone hole, violence, and atomic energy.



Their influences can be seen in song titles, "Blue Oyster Cult," "Redd Kross," and "White Flag." In fact it was the first one, about the painful agony of food poisoning one can get from bad oysters, was the first song I heard from them on KRUX radio. In "Redd Kross" which has nothing to do with RK but about LA, the refrain goes "Hey-hoh, let's go." Familiar? The third is a quick burst of adrenalized aural guitar attack and frantic drums lasting a little over a minute.



They sing two cover songs, a note-for-note cover of the Beatles' "Rain" and John Lennon's "Luck Of The Irish" with guest vocals from Redd Kross's Jeff McDonald. Their love of the Fabs can be seen in the pure punk of "Lazybone," where they sing "you don't need to be a walrus" and "you don't need to be an eggman." Now which song did the last words in those verses come from, I wonder? And rhyming serious with walrus... whimsically interesting. But who can blame them if they want to avoid riding a crowded subway and sleeping all day. They show their punk-like rebelliousness in singing "I don't wanna work a boring job/I wanna play all day/I don't wanna flatter silly people/I wanna kick them out." You tell them, or as I would say in an Osakan accent, "sonotouriyadeh"



The trio sing lovingly of their hometown Osaka, where Ayumu-chan is from. A skippy beat reminding me of a Jew's harp muted with jello accompanies this paean of a place they prefer over London, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and everywhere else in Japan.



The mid-paced "Superstar" tells of the first two roles of a girl who wants to achieve stardom, first as a dead body, then as a taxi driver. It's a long way to the top, isn't it?

The escapist mellow "Fruit Loop Dreams" is a candied paradise with Beatles-ish harmonies, where Toucan Sam, pronounced "Tocan Sam" here, will lead them a la Willy Wonka to "Chocolate streams and ice cream dreams/fancy flavoured clouds and sun/lots of cakes and soda pop/and lollipops for everyone." I'm going. Anyone else coming?



"The Moon World" has a vintage SK power pop sound, upbeat pop with muted punk guitars, a soundalike of the earlier "Devil House" from their previous Pretty Little Baka Guy album. Another fantasy song like "Fruit Loop Dreams." "Baggs" is a funny commentary on how brand-name trend-conscious Japanese are, where kindergarteners, old people, and every cat and dog has Louis Vuitton bags, where its all about the name and logos.



The remastered sound is a vast improvement over the first release on Rockville/Gasatanka Records. The live bonus tracks of "Lazybone" and "Blue Oyster Cult" don't detract from the original 15 songs. 712 is the best of the first four albums, made before they switched labels and (sigh!) began singing exclusively in English.



Why 712? One source holds it to be the first syllables of the Japanese words for 712. 7 is nana, 1 is ichi, and 2 is futatsu. Naifu, or Knife. Get it?"