Psych-O-Positive x Tomoyuki Tanaka x Shinichi Sekizawa x Ishiro Honda – Mothra!
The greatest thing that you can do to entertain an audience is to surprise them. That’s also the hardest thing to do. And, knowing this, all of the record labels and music studios which pay for artistic projects tend to encourage artists to produce the most typical, predictable material. This won’t change anyone’s life, but at least it’ll help them avoid any terrible risks.
On the other hand, the legendary performers, the ones for which books are written and movie biographies made, are the ones who have shown a willingness to challenge and, at times, upset their audience. The best comedians have bombed on stage on purpose. The best novelists have written works under pseudonyms to throw readers off the scent. And the best bands have shown a willingness to make music that confused the general public.
Here’s a surprising, beautifully kitschy sound. It’s a simple song delivered by a very complicated moniker. Psych-O-Positive x Tomoyuki Tanaka x Shinichi Sekizawa x Ishiro Honda take on “Mothra!” This was, originally, the soundtrack to a shlocky Japanese horror movie production. Given the proper, modern treatment, it makes hearing the new version of the song even more unusual. There’s a take-it-or-leave-it quality to the material, and that may be precisely what your ears, which are so accustomed to perfectly recorded, friendly material, need.
Strawberry Lace – When The Dog Bites
Some bands just want it too much. They’re the sort of bands that we try to avoid on Alt77. There’s something about their relentless ambition that sickens me and makes me think that those people ought to have invested their time in a career in sports. Now, there’s a place where relentless ambition and a willingness to showcase your skill at every opportunity can pay off.
In music, however, I prefer the weirdos, the people who are unsure of themselves, and especially the musicians who won’t reveal their hands too quickly. A lot of music fans feel the exact same way if we are to judge by the number of musician biographies and persistent urban myths surrounding some of them.
Simply put, it’s hard to find highly competent musicians who aren’t obsessed with proving their ability at every chance that they get. Strawberry Lace is among the few groups who are blessed with this kind of overall technical proficiency and still employ this to create a theatre show for the imagination. “When The Dog Bites” is aggressive, dynamic and mysterious. There are occasional flashes of fretwork mastery, but hiding that kind of knowledge altogether would be in poor form. Strawberry Lace strives to be the Pearl Jam of technical virtuosos, and we are on board for that.
