Budo Grape can squish out some of the most saccharine synth pop, and their new album Kare No Namae Wo Omoidasenai goes down fairly easy for the most part.

Imagine if Candyland or Willy Wonka’s factory was turned into a video game, Budo Grape would probably provide the soundtrack. Never chip-tuney, the group has a knack with the keyboard for RPG-ish and cartoony synth hooks.

“Doggie Maggie” is a fine example of how they tweak the synth sound to something akin to Link’s Ocarina.  “Otanakomo” mixes beepy keyboards with organs and the wonderful wind instrument melodica. “Mekakushi” sounds like a pop xylophone dungeon crawler with a piercing baby chorus and a spastic saxophone.

Ultimately, the biggest obstacle in enjoying Budo Grape’s music is indeed the lead singer Quiminco’s voice. It’s babyish, cutesy and sometimes annoying. The easiest way to surpass that barrier is seeing the group perform and the woman behind the voice. SP highly recommend watching the band’s video for “Sutten Kororin.” Hopefully your perception should change, and the music is a lot easier to swallow. After that, follow up with a heavy dose of the love you to death track “True Love” and it’s pretty much a done deal.

Stand out tracks include the steel drum-esque “Hitori Uminite,” current single “Sutten Kororin,” and the notorious “True Love.” May we also recommend the last track “Senobi” which puts one of the male vocalists front and center.

Budo Grape’s album Kare No Namae Wo Omoidasenai will be released on 4.25.2012. Preorder from Amazon.jp.

Also visit Budo Grape’s official website.