Shonen Knife are an institution. Like The Ramones before them for so many years, Shonen Knife make simple-but-smart rock-and-roll, and they've done it for literally decades. The trio's new album, Sweet Candy Power, dropped this week on Good Charamel Records and it is, of course, wildly infectious and, most importantly, a whole lot of fun.
The line-up now is Naoko (vocals and guitar), Atsuko (bass and vocals), and Risa (drums and vocals). And the trio work up a wonderful racket here on this record. Lead single "Dizzy" opens with a Slade-like bit of foot-stomping before it opens up into a real summery bit of indie-pop. Elsewhere, "Party" is even better as it's really noisy, while the title cut on Sweet Candy Power is as close as this band's come to sounding like a Japanese version of The Ramones in a long time. Lots of Sweet Candy Power is exactly what you'd expect. And while some of this is refreshingly light ("Peppermint Attack", "Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches"), there's more here ("Wave Rock", "My Independent Country") that is slightly more complex, with the big riffs anchoring tunes that are just a little bit more serious.
Sweet Candy Power is out now via Good Charamel Records.
More details on Shonen Knife via the band's official website, or the group's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Uncredited promotional picture]