(Smalltown Supersound/Creative Vibes)

Two EPs in one from amazingly good Japanese post-punks

Wow, just ... wow. Nisennenmondai are three very unassuming Japanese girls, but they sound something like a rehearsal room rolling down the side of a hill. There’s a certain kraut-rock rigidity to the drums, and an odd repetitiveness to the bass and guitar that makes every subtle variation a portentous inflection. But it’s their sheer technical astuteness and aggressive playing style that makes them so likeable. It’s as though someone took some ‘80s post-punk jams and ran them through a dilapidated tape machine in fast forward. When things slow down – slightly – on This Heat, the band craft an eerie cyberpunk soundscape with strange squalls of feedback, a stuttering drum beat and a pulsing guitar twitch that sounds like its travelling a thousand miles over power-lines to reach the amplifier. The bass eventually comes and picks the song up – pushing it along until the whole thing becomes a writhing garage scrawl. If you like post-punk, no wave, psych, garage or early alt-rock, then you really have to hear this record. Nisennenmondai do it so much better than most.

JAKEB SMITH

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