ＡＬＬＥＲＧＹ - EL DORADO

El Dorado was, as far as i know, ＡＬＬＥＲＧＹ's only studio album. it's brilliant. i still prefer their live album that was recorded at the Shinjuku Loft, but that's simply because of the energy. that album remains my favorite live album ever recorded. this is just really great source material, i suppose. and it's awesome to hear how they sound here, and then compare it to the live album; they perform better live. i always wonder how that comes to be; does the producer force them into a different sound (like with the very well known case of Joy Division, where their producer wanted them to have a much more mellow and less punk sound for their album). regardless, i don't care too much in the long run, as this is still a perfect album. any fans of the live album should enjoy this, without a doubt.


1. Poker Face City
2. 追放者
3. Burning Angel
4. El Dorado
5. Joker
6. Our Time
7. Tokyo Frustration
8. Double Think
9. J.B.の夢
10. Plastic Toy


ENJOY

ＲＥＡＬ - REAL

ＲＥＡＬ were a self-published (starting after this EP) post-punk band. they put out quite a few EPs, beginning with 1981's REAL, but they didn't put out a full length until 1991. i haven't heard it, so i can't judge it's worth, but all of their EPs up to that point were sublime. this first one is no exception. it's a banging and growling monster with harsh feedback, rolling piano, and grunted vocals. it's also absolutely stunning to listen to.

most certainly check this out if you liked ＡＬＬＥＲＧＹ.


1. 前夜
2. A級戦犯
3. 1981（シークレット・パージ）
4. MAI


ENJOY

ＡＬＬＥＲＧＹ - Last Live At Shinjuku Loft -1984.10.27-

this is the live album by post-punk band ＡＬＬＥＲＧＹ (or is it アレルギー? impossible to say, considering they used both. i'll stick with the unicode spelling). it was released by Teichiku Entertainment, which also put out music by Pizzicato Five, Urban Dance, Shi-Shonen, コシミハル, ゲルニカ, 細野晴臣, and plenty of other new-wave and related bands. they also did the japanese releasing for some mediocre western bands, but we'll forget about that for now.

i present you their live album because it is superior to the studio album that i have. in energy and performance, sure, but also in song choices. for example, the live album doesn't have their brilliant "『　　　』　(かたち)" which i can't. stop. fucking. listening. to. jeeeeesus christ.

this reminds me a bit of ＳＯＤＯＭ's hardcore era, but only in delivery. i guess it really doesn't sound too much like them, though. it sounds more like すきすきスウィッチ, actually. or maybe OFF MASK 00. either way, the music is very frantic and the vocalist is absolutely manic in his delivery. it's one of the best live albums that i have ever heard. if i had the option, i would sell my soul to have been at Shinjuku Loft on the 27th of october in 1984. what a fantastic show that would have been.

download this now or regret it forever.




1. Tokyoフラストレイション
2. Plastic Toy
3. ポーカー・フェイス・シティ
4. Our Time
5. Automata
6. 二重思考　(ダブルシンク)
7. J.B.の夢
8. 情事
9. 消えた影
10. 『　　　』　(かたち)
11. Game
12. Cosmic Ray
13. 20th Century Boy
14. エル・ドラド　
15. 笑う土
16. Monkey Drive
17. 追放者
18. バーニング・エンジェル
19. ジョーカー


ENJOY

少女人形 - 愛の嵐

愛の嵐 is an incredible album by 少女人形, a hardcore band with many post-punk influences. though they didn't start out as a band with any post-punk influences, by this album they had become very post-punk. that actually seems to be a common theme with hardcore bands in japan (even The Stalin put out a post-punk album (FISH INN)).

everything about this is perfect. one of my favorite albums as of late.


1. Lost Lost
2. Inside Reality
3. Kill Age
4. Shining
5. Moon Light Love


ENJOY

0FF MASK 00 - SONIC COLD CRAZY REACTION

here's OFF MASK 00's album, SONIC COLD CRAZY REACTION, put out by Selfish Records in 1986. Selfish Records also put out albums by the likes of The Execute, Death Side, S.O.B., Gauze, and 愚鈍.

this is a really special album right here, people. it's very, very difficult to describe using only genres. but, basically, it's really spastic punk with heavy feedback and lines of static all over the place. there may be some influence of hardcore here and there, but it's minimal.

the vocals are the part that drive me crazy. they're high pitched and whining and very feminine. they're so wonderful. since i discovered this band a while back the vocalist has become one of my all time favorites.


1. Are You Ready?
2. Sonic Cold Crazy Reaction
3. ナンシー・シンナー
4. Highway Splatter (Baby!)
5. アンモニア
6. サンパクガン
7. パラノイア
8. さかさま
9. Love '86
10. Punch Drunker
11. I Don't Wanna Be Your Dog


ENJOY

ＳＯＤＯＭ - TV MURDER

here's another album by the legendary ＳＯＤＯＭ. this seems to be where they began to move closer to their brief post-punk sound. their efforts here sound more like The Birthday Party, which is certainly interesting.


1. Euro
2. TV Murder
3. Hills Garden
4. Arts of Lab
5. In The Wall
6. Calimrec
7. Test Pattern N°2


ENJOY

Geizz - WE WAIT FOR SONG OF GEIZZ

here's a wonderful little EP by Geizz, a hardcore punk band that has a sound along the lines of Gastunk or Poison Arts. very good stuff.

that album art, by the way . . . goddamn. ♥


1. Go To Ruin
2. Song of Geizz
3. Wild Boys
4. Tormentor


ENJOY

赤痢 - PUSH PUSH BABY

kyoto's 赤痢 are a simplistic punk-rock band from the late 80s/early 90s (my favorite era of music, as this blog would suggest). there's nothing terribly new or exciting about 赤痢's music. most of it is fairly standard punk-rock. the part that is absolutely fucking amazing, though, is the vocalist's completely dry vocal delivery. it's fascinating how she manages to sound bored the entire record.

that almost sounds like a bad thing, i know, but you really have to check this out. it's incredible.

1. PANCH
2. GORILLA
3. VERY GOOD
4. HAPPY NEW YEAR
5. ORE NO DOJI
6. DABA


ENJOY

AMPPEZ - FRANKLY SPEAKING ABOUT LOVE

WELCOME TO BIZZARO SOFTLY SLEEPING ROSE! today is a history-making event for this blog, as i'm posting something that is genuinely upbeat with no upsetting or melancholic undercurrents of pain and miseryyyyy.

i would like to introduce you to AMPPEZ, a "Cool and Emotional Balladic Girl Rock from Shizuoka Japan" (as their awkwardly translated last.fm bio describes them). i'm not sure of the genre, as i don't usually pay attention to music like this. i think it might be shoegaze or something like that, maybe pop-punk. ANYWAYS, what you have here is some of the most uplifting, adorable, and mind-numbingly touching music you'll ever hear. the vocalist's scratchy voice is, in almost every song, accompanied by heartfelt shouts from her band mates, which is one of the most satisfying things about this to me.


grrlz r00l up teh punx ♥ ♥ ♥