Why didn’t I post this sooner!? “Kung-fu Cider”, by STRIKERS (ストライカーズ) is pretty crazy (I’m sure the title gave that away :P). It’s a frenetic mash-up of distortion, skanking guitars, synths, and vociferous vocals. It took me a couple of listens, but now I’m hooked.

STRIKERS released their latest album, GOLD, on April 8th. Check out their official MySpace page for more wild and wacky dance-rock action.

Signing a deal with a major label can sometimes be a double-edged sword. It’s great for a band to succeed and ‘make it big’, but there’s also been plenty of times that original fans of a band feel they get burned if a band makes changes. “Sell out” is a term we’re all familiar with.

The dance-rock quartet are defined by their wacky music and playful sense of humor, so in order for them to succeed, their individuality should certainly stay intact.

The band of Akira Ishige (vocals, guitar, synth), Ryohei Nagashima (bass, chorus), Nobuaki Okamoto (synth, chorus), and Seiji Matsumoto (drums) formed in 2005 and have been gaining momentum ever since. the telephones’ first EP came in ’07 and their first LP dropped in early ’08. A second EP followed at the end of ’08.

As of now, there isn’t much information about the major debut, DANCE FLOOR MONSTERS, but there is a release date and tracklisting. DANCE FLOOR MONSTERS is set to come out on July 8th, 2009 and here’s the tracklisting:

01. D.A.N.C.E to the telephones!!! 　
02. Baby.Baby.Baby　
03. Urban Disco
04. Monkey Discooooooo　
05. Catastrophe
06. Hopping Shower
07. Jabberwocky
08. Dance With You
09. Perfect World
10. Dead Men
11. HABANERO
12. Yesterday,Today,Tomorrow(My Life is Beautiful)

Only two of the 12 tracks have been released before. Both “Urban Disco” and “HABANERO” appeared the telephone’s debut mini-album, We are the handclaps ep.

There aren’t any new PVs yet, but since “Urban Disco” will be on DANCE FLOOR MONSTERS, here’s the 2007 PV:

For music, PVs, and info, check of the telephone’s official site and MySpace page.

Q: What are your thoughts on bands going major?

Cover albums aren’t always known for being stellar or improving upon the orginal tracks, yet all nine artists on Disney Rocks! take the essence of classic Disney and morph it, to varying degrees, into something that’s remarkably fresh and fun. Okay, I’m starting to gush…I like Disney AND I’m a fan of the artists that participated in this release. Here’s a track-by-track:

avengers in sci-fi kicks things off in a fashion that’s surprisingly unmysterious when compared to some of their original stuff. The Mickey Mouse Club theme’s iconic spelled out lyrics are relatively discreet and avengers take the song in a new creative direction.

I was a bit worried about GOLLBETTY’s ska/pop/rock take on this beautiful ballad but then I actually heard the song. “A Whole New World” by GOLLBETTY is an awesome stand-out track that maintains the wonderful melody while kicking it up a couple dozen beats-per-minute and adding a whole lot of horns.

the chef cooks me shines in this song that’s rough at first before shifting into something more complete. A dancing guitar and all sorts of synth instruments are sprinkled throughout the track that really brings the chef cooks me’s “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” to life.

This is probably my personal favorite cover and that’s probably because I’m already a big fan of The Telephones. The playful, almost tongue-in-cheek nature of The Telephones and their music lends itself incredibly well to this remake and the falsetto segments are like gold.

I wasn’t familiar with Rufus before hearing “Kiss the Girl” but afterwards, I must hear more. His take on “Kiss the Girl” surges with a Beach Boys-esque, oldies rock vibe. The dynamic track starts slow but really gets going a quarter of the way through.

OTOGIBANASHI’s “When You Wish Upon a Star” made me realize how good Disney songs can sound in Japanese. It’s a pretty vanilla cover that’s true to the original sound and tempo of the song. The warm tone and purposefully unrefined vocals make for a very pleasant and mellow listen.

The →Pia-no-jaC← version of “Main Street Electrical Parade” could be a cover or just a demo in how awesome of musicians this piano/cajon duo really are. A delightful exhibition fit for the streets of Disney. It’s “instrumental awesomeness” indeed.

With instrumentation and a singing-in-unison chorus, “It’s a Small World” by riddim saunter is exceptionally faithful to the original song and very fun. Despite being draped in signature riddim saunter sound, it’s so unswerving that it needs to be played on the It’s a Small World Ride at Tokyo Disneyland!

The light and acoustic medley from the great Keiichi Sokabe himself is a outstanding bonus track. It’s a rough cut and the noticeably loud, ambient hiss make it an add-on track, production wise. Despite that, Keiichi Sokabe’s performance and simple touch is charming.

Listen to a sample of “A Whole New World” by GOLLBETTY
[audio:http://sparkplugged.net/wp-content/uploads/music/awholenewworld.mp3|titles=A Whole New World|artists=GOLLBETTY]

Listen to a sample of “Heigh-ho” by The Telephones
[audio:http://sparkplugged.net/wp-content/uploads/music/heighho.mp3|titles=Heigh-ho|artists=The Telephones]

Village Vanguard produced the outstanding compilation and you can check it out here: http://vgvd.jp/vv/goods/00000CD205/

If you’ve listened to Disney Rocks!, what’s your favorite cover?

Though spacey — both astral and bizarre — The Temptation X is a fair effort by the young band to create a union between off-beat synthetic esoterism and coherence; they affectionately refer to it as ‘rocktrance’ (ロッカトランス).

Much of The Temptation X is an experimental adventure composed of stratified synths overflowing with strange effects. Folds of often saw synths overlap while low frequencies from drums and GEORGE’s bass guitar hum. KAZ-TICKS’ frequent and crisp guitar combines with lead singer/synth player/programmer 68′s decidedly clean vocals to bring a ‘normal’ balance to MONICA URANGLASS’ music. With these guys fooling around with such a wide array of sounds and settings, it’s incredibly refreshing to hear vocals that are without atrocious effects slopped on (like those from Auto-tune).

The Temptation X‘s first track, “O.P.E.R.A.T.I.O.N” sets the tone. An odd fluttering pans across the speakers and commands the aural foreground while a beat breaks and vocal samples flesh out the space beyond. The oscillation lures the listener into the realm of MONICA URANGLASS where strange noises pop in and dance across stereo channels. Though curious, most of this sounds like the result of organic, human creation — as opposed to being a simple output of a programmed sequencer.

The obvious stand-out on The Temptation X is “Katie”. The song is many individually catchy and small, well-thought-out progressions intertwined as one. “Katie” flows from standard verse to chorus and back but never dulls. The vibrantly flashing melody will endure in the listener’s head long after the song has concluded.

“Kill The Sebastian” is a trancy block of tones that divides “Katie” and “Jill United” (a track that also appeared on MONICA URANGLASS’ 2008 The Invitation EP). From there, The Temptation X dives into a celestial sea of synth waves and goes exploring. Such tracks as Luv Tick・・・Ticks, U.LA.LA, and Picture A.B.S.T glow brightly in the quirky depths populated by Galaxico Fantastico (new favorite song name), Generation X, P.O.T.X, and Termination X (a lot of X’s)

MONICA URANGLASS formed in 2007 and although the young band’s music is defined by electronic exploration, it’s apparent that they are still finding their place and sound. That’s encouraging though, since The Temptation X is a substantial effort that proves that MONICA URANGLASS is on the right track. Additionally, the progress made in the jump from the admirable “Jill United” to the astonishing “Katie”, proves that the trio can really grow.

MONICA URANGLASS is currently signed with actwise and EVOL Records-Excite Music Entertainment and will promote their new album with the PROJEKT “The Temptation X” TOUR 2009, which runs from March 18th to July 12th. MONICA URANGLASS recently toured with VOLA & THE ORIENTAL MACHINE and “Jill United” is featured on a compilation that came out on March 4th. The compilation, UNDER CONSTRUCTION～rock’n'roll revival from Tokyo!!!～ also features songs by The John’s Guerrilla, The Mirraz, QUATTRO, THE BAWDIES, PILLS EMPIRE, and Veni Vidi Vicious.

The name MONICA URANGLASS most likely means “MONICA URANIUMGLASS” since “ウラン” (uran) is Japanese for uranium.

PV RECAP (“Jill United” & “Katie”):

Visit MONICA URANGLASS’ official site & MySpace page

Buy The Temptation X and UNDER CONSTRUCTION～rock’n'roll revival from Tokyo!!!～

“Katie” is the latest PV from dance rock band MONICA URANGLASS. The song is really catchy and bright — much like the PV, which features a goofy version of human Tetris and takes place inside of a Gameboy.

The song is off of MONICA URANGLASS’ first album, The Temptation X which is out on March 11th. Judging from the band’s name, their past single “Jill United”, and this, it’s safe to say that these guys have an affinity for girls’ names.

From Sakanaction’s second album, “NIGHT FISHING” released early last year. I think you could describe it as solid Japanese alt-rock with a good beat and some electro flare. These guys are probably my current faves at the moment; I can’t get enough of them!

This post is actually a precursor to something ‘bigger’ which will hopefully be up soon. (sorry shay, I’m still hacking away at it. dontfireme)

“Jill United” was on MONICA URANGLASS’ (モニカ・ウラングラス) first EP that came out in August of ’08. An album edit of the song is also included on the band’s upcoming first full-length album which comes out March 11th.

It’s good, solid electronic/dance rock that’s in the same vein as Klaxons, The Faint, and The Rapture.

Disney Rocks! is a new breed of Disney cover song compilation. The nine-track album features covers by avengers in sci-fi, GOLLBETTY, the chef cooks me, The Telephones, Rufus, OTOGIBANASHI, →Pia-no-jaC←, Riddim Saunter, and Keiichi Sokabe.

That roster is an instant win. Considering how many of those bands have been featured on SparkPlugged, it’s like some of our favorite artists took part in one of those teleportation experiments but it went awry when a box set of classic Disney DVDs got left in one of the machines — a musical version of The Fly.

For the record, here’s some past articles: avengers in sci-fi (link), GOLLBETTY (link), the chef cooks me (link), The Telephones (link, 2, 3), Riddim Saunter (link).

Disney Rocks! is produced by Village Vanguard and set to drop February 27th.

The tracklisting for Disney Rocks!:

01.Mickey Mouse March [Mickey Mouse Club] – avengers in sci-fi
02.Whole New World [Aladdin] – GOLLBETTY
03.Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo [Cinderella] – the chef cooks me
04.Heigh-Ho [Snow White] – The Telephones
05.Kiss the Girls [The Little Mermaid] – Rufus
06.When You Wish upon a Star (Japanese version) [Pinocchio] – OTOGIBANASHI
07.Main Street Electrical Parade [Disneyland R] – →Pia-no-jaC←
08.It’s a Small World [New York World Fair] / Riddim Saunter

“Special Track”
09.When You Wish upon a Star [Pinocchio] & It’s a Small World (Japanese version) [New York World Fair] – Keiichi Sokabe

via Natalie.mu

What is “Love&DISCO”? Well, it’s great song, a funny & entertaining PV, and an electric EP. I included JAPAN by The Telephones on my MOST AWESOME RELEASES of 2008!! (part 2) and mentioned the Love&DISCO EP. It came out and November and I’m still loving it. “Love & DISCO!!”

Riff-rain is school food punishment’s third mini album. It comes just over a year since the band’s last mini album, the acclaimed air feel, color swim. Considering the short time between the releases of school food punishment’s first and second mini album, Riff-rain feels overdue eventhough it’s right on time (it’s actually early thanks to a Tower Records limited sale — the nationwide release is out January 14th).

The six tracks on Riff-rain are enough to satisfy, until the listener realizes he/she is craving more.

The mini album kicks off with “Flow”. With a brief beginning that sounds like a more solemn and understated version of the intro to Van Halen’s “Right Now”, “Flow” quickly leaves that notion behind when the rest of the band punches in. The poppy, jazzy sound created by keyboardist Masayuki Hasuo (蓮尾雅之), bassist Hideaki Yamasaki (山崎英明), and drummer Osamu Hidai (比田井修) unites with the piercing-yet-smooth, seasoned vocals and guitar of Yumi Uchimura (内村友美).

Each element coalesces to create a sound that is crisp enough to be interesting and ethereal enough to fascinating. This combination creates a gravity of perpetual intrigue that’s simply hard to escape. Tracks consist of constant play with jazzy piano progressions, funky rhythms, and synthy atmospherics.

“Feedback” is the obvious single off of Riff-rain. It’s got a nice hook and is the most balanced blend of school food punishment’s ‘sounds’. “Egoist” flows with fluid synths and saw waves. After “Egoist”, “Killer” sounds much more au naturel, but it’s not without some glitchy highlights. The brief track, “Over” completes Riff-rain and brings things back full circle, ending on the same notes that “Flow” began with.

With the exception of the mellow and sublime “二人海の底” (Futari Umi No Soko), each track on Riff-rain is packed full of pop and punch with electronic tones always creeping around in the background.

The avidity of the piano sometimes starts to sound a bit monotonous so it’s great to see the band mix things up when needed. That little switch results in making the Rhodes-like accompaniment on “二人海の底” sound brilliant.

school food punishment formed in late 2004. With two demos, a compilation, and three mini albums, expect a full-length album sometime soon. Though the band’s first two mini albums were with JULY RECORDS, Riff-rain is being released with FIVEMAN ARMY ROCKS.

Check out the PV for “Feedback”:

Visit school food punishment’s official site or MySpace.

Buy Riff-rain by school food punishment.