.....from Tokyo

Fast year the Smalltown Supersound label clued a lot of lucky listeners outside of Japan into the wonders of the all-girl, uber rhythmic skronk rock groop Nisennenmondai, by reissuing the trio's Tori and Neji eps together on one cd (Heartworm then doing an lp version). That sure whet our appetite for more, and here it is!

Destination Tokyo starts off with a real choo-choo train of a track, "Souzousuru Neji", the crazy choo-choo threatening to go off the rails, propelled by nervous no wavey percussive jitter, feedback scraping around the edges of the beat. It's super repetitive, incessant, awesome. Part This Heat, part Liquid Liquid, part Children Coup d'Etat (a Japanese avant-rock band from the '90s, anyone remember 'em? We mention them 'cause of what sounds like a violin in the mix here). The track builds and builds for about 13 minutes, the bass pulsations protruding, the beats pounding harder, the whole thing getting denser and denser, intensifying until the sudden stop on a dime suck the air out of the room ending at about the 13 minute mark. Whew. Though then the Nisennenmondai girls pick it up again right quick with the chicken scratch groove of "Disco", another seemingly endless build up. That's their formula, and we sure dig it! Relentless high-hat, chiming and chirping guitars, layered and looping...

On this full-length, Nisennenmondai's music is still mostly instrumental (with the exception of the brief, a capella babytalk of track 3, "Miraabouru") but is presented with quite a bit LESS noise and distortion than on those two early eps, Nisennenmondai this time going for more of a spare, skeletal, minimalist sound, though still one that effortlessly builds and builds and builds to juggernaut proportions. It is much more "dancefloor" friendly, with song titles like "Disco" and "Mirrorball", not to mention the cover art, that must be the intention, but in a very motorik, krautrocky way. While "Souzousuru Neji" is probably the heaviest cut here, at the opposite end of the disc, the kosmiche synth wooshes and melodic loveliness that adorn the final, title track display Nisennenmondai at their calmest and krautrockiest, it's definitely one for fans of Neu! and Harmonia and the like. Heck this track could be Circle or Salvatore, playing at an ambient airport with planes and helicopters blissfully buzzing around. What is not to love???! From; aQuarius recOrds



Links; Nisennenmondai - Destination Tokyo Password (if needed); wws Nisennenmondai Nisennenmondai @ MySpace BUY!!!