Imagine if Edie Brickell merged with Eddie Van Halen, and you get one badass chick singer/guitarist in the form of Tomomi Nabana.  Her band Detroit7 rock the heavens with their new loud thunderous track “Samidarukimi.”  You really need to turn this UP!

“Samidarukimi”  is off their new album NUDE out 10.6.2010, which has awesome album cover art. You can preorder this baby now from cdjapan.co.jp.

Watching these guys play in a performance setting is always a treat, because they genuinely rock out. So stand on your tippy toes, try to touch the clouds, and reach out to detroit7′s official myspace page, twitter and official website for more!

Getting its material from detroit7′s relatively recent full-length album “Black & White”, which is only directly available in Japan, the similarly titled “Black & White EP” takes five songs from that album and manages to throw them together in a way that works. Starting off with the track “Why?”, the album immediately hits you over the head with an intense Nirvana-esque tune that features the fast-driving drums of Miyoko Yamaguchi (山口美代子).

The album quickly moves into the much more approachable tune of “COLD HEAT”. While still managing to highlight the band’s long-staying addiction to heavily distorted screaming guitar riffs, the tune manages to make the quirky and unique vocals of the equally quirky vocalist/guitarist Tomomi Nabana (菜花知美) quite catchy. Bassist Nobuaki Kotajima (古田島伸明) also manages to turn in a strong performance for this song.

The aptly-named “Stooges” and “DDD” mellows the sound out a bit, but shows the band’s attempt to harken back to the olden days of rock and pay tribute to their favorite bands. The final track “Owaranai Uta” (“Endless Song”) is a final and appropriate send-off as a nod towards the highly influential Japanese punk band THE BLUE HEARTS.

In a previous SparkPlugged article, it was said that detroit7 isn’t for everyone. For the most part, this is still true. However, while this release still panders to that very specific garage rock audience, it does demonstrate the band moving forward and refining their sound, if only to draw more people from that particular niche.

detroit7′s American release of “Black & White EP” is scheduled to be released on iTunes on October 27th.

Here is the PV of “COLD HEAT”:

More samples from the album and info about the band can be found on detroit7′s Daruma Label page. They also have an official website and an official MySpace that can be visited.

detroit7′s self-titled debut on Daruma Label is blues-tinged, garage-rock gold. Tarnished by befitting blurs of a fuzzy guitar, a trembling bass, and blustery percussion, the overall beauty of detroit7′s music may be subjective, but some moments of lustrous brilliance are nearly universal. While the trio ventures into a domain of disarray, coherence and some charm does shine through.

The album kicks off with a segmented introduction. “In The Sunshine” winds up with Tomomi Nabana’s (菜花知美) growling guitar ahead of Miyoko Yamaguchi’s (山口美代子) building drums. The song takes off once the bass of Nobuaki Kotajima (古田島伸明) joins and Nabana’s unmistakable, brawny vocals pop in, between her guitar interjections. The moderate chaos finds order with the onset of the divergently fluid chorus. The sonic plateau that the trio built up during the start of “In The Sunshine”, is maintained throughout the entire track — even during the bridge, thanks to some guitar reverb.

“Watering” and “Fatman Blues” follow “In The Sunshine”‘s rowdy lead, but the latter takes a turn from the previous tracks’ almost staccato vocal delivery. “Mr. Kato on the Road” turns it up even more, as guitar and bass mount a fervent assault atop a sea of crashing cymbalry.

The proceeding track begins with an obvious guitar riff that runs four bars before detroit7 bends in a creative twist. The band’s take on “Louie Louie” is a spirited rendition that fits in well. It’s a commendable cover. It doesn’t lift too much from the original 50′s classic, but also doesn’t spin into something too obscure. “Louie Louie” is right at home on the album and Nabana’s shrill take on the chorus accents detroit7′s gritty arrangement.

Hopping, swing-style tom-toms bounce in to introduce “24 Hours”, following the album’s “Louie Louie” high. It’s a fresh way kick off the second half of the release. “Down Beat” continues along the path forged by the preceding tracks and it’s not until “Torch Song” that a brief shift is encountered.

“Torch Song” is by far the album’s most approachable track, simply because it lacks some of the gravelly intensity of its predecessors.

The album concludes with “Zelda” and “Lovers Fight”. These tracks do a proper job of looping the release back to the tone and foot it started on.

The songs on detroit7 do sometimes sound a bit formulaic but when you’re playing genre music, conventions are permissible. The sonic plateau mentioned for “In The Sunshine”, extends through the entire release. The album lacks some much-craved variation and the nearly unrelenting wash of noise and distortion begins to sound a bit cacophonous after a while.

detroit7 isn’t for everyone. But don’t shy away, for detroit7′s music can be an acquired taste for adventurous listeners and surely, those listeners and garage rock fans alike, will shake at the knees with excitement from the first guitar riff to the last.

detroit7 formed in 2001 and have opened for Tamio Okuda, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, and more. In America, they are currently signed with Daruma Label, a new branch of Domo Records (which is renowned Japanese composer, Kitaro’s label).

The bands next Japanese release, Black and White , is set for release on May 20th.

Watch a live performance of “Fatman Blues” in Paris:

Listen to samples of the album on detroit7′s Daruma page and their official MySpace.

Buy detroit7′s self-titled release on Domo’s official store or on iTunes.

This year’s Japan Nite Tour will ignite stages across the United States with some of Japan’s hottest indie acts. Running from March 20th to 29th, the featured bands will play shows in eight US cities. The tour kicks off March 20th & 21st at SXSW in Austin and concludes on the 29th at The Knitting Factory in L.A.

Although the line ups for each night can vary, the collective bill for the tour includes SPARTA LOCALS, detroit7, Dirty Old Men, GRAPEVINE, Stereopony, SA, FLiP, Omodaka, THE EMERALDS, HONEY SAC, Special Thanks, Asakusa Jinta, and quaff.

Here’s the detailed venues and line ups for each night of the Japan Nite US Tour 2009:

SXSW Music Festival
March 20 (Fri) Austin,TX @ Elysium
LINEUP: FLiP / Dirty Old Men / HONEY SAC / Sparta Locals / GRAPEVINE / detroit7

March 21 (Sat) Austin,TX @ Elysium
LINEUP: Stereopony / Special Thanks / The Emeralds / SA / Asakusa Jinta / quaff

The tour
March 22 (Sun) NEW YORK @ Bowery Ballroom
LINEUP: detroit7 / SA / SPARTA LOCALS / FLiP / Omodaka / GRAPEVINE / Asakusa Jinta

March 23 (Mon) Cambridge, MA @ T.T. The Bear’s
LINEUP: detroit7 / SA / SPARTA LOCALS / FLiP / Omodaka / THE EMERALDS

March 24 (Tue) CHICAGO @ Empty Bottle
LINEUP: detroit7 / SA / SPARTA LOCALS / FLiP / Omodaka

March 26 (Thu）DENVER @ Bluebird Theater
LINEUP: detroit7 / SA / SPARTA LOCALS / FLiP / Omodaka

March 27 (Fri) SEATTLE @ High Dive
LINEUP: detroit7 / SA / SPARTA LOCALS / FLiP / Omodaka

March 28 (Sat) SF @ Independent
LINEUP: detroit7 / SA / SPARTA LOCALS / FLiP / Omodaka

March 29 (Sun) LA @ Knitting Factory
LINEUP: detroit7 / SA / SPARTA LOCALS / FLiP / Omodaka

We knew the tour would stop in Denver and it was more recently announced that they’re coming to the Bluebird Theater. You know what that means? Well, probably not so I’ll say. *SparkPlugged will be there and if you’re in the area you should be too. If you’re within a couple hundred miles of any of the other tour stops, by all means go go go! If we can come out of exile for this one then surely you can skip work or hitchhike with strangers if need be — though we do not officially condone this behavior.

For more details on the Japan Nite US Tour 2009, check out the tour’s official site and MySpace page.

This is a perfect excuse to post the PV for “水のようだ” (Mizu no youda, like water) by SPARTA LOCALS. Enjoy: