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The Tokyo Smash
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The Scene Queen Reigns Supreme [EP]
Recorse Records
Release: 9/07/2004
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Rated:
Review by:
Jason Warner
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The Tokyo Smash has given us an EP cleverly entitled,
The Scene Queen Reigns Supreme. Not as
clever however, is their interpretation of what is rock music.
I guess at some point there must have been one band who
was the pioneer of this type of music. The first band I heard
do it was Thursday, although I admit they may not have
been the first, just the first I heard. Every time I hear a
band using this exact recipe for their music, I group them in
with Thursday. I guess this music is called screamo? Let
me give you the recipe:
- 1st guitar plays super distorted riffs through mesa
boogie amp (preferably tuned down).
- Bass doubles first guitar, making sure never to stray
from exact same part the guitarist is playing.
- 2nd guitar picks through clean chords.
- Drums go wild with massive cymbals and no dynamics,
but plenty of heavy beats and lots of fills, maybe some
double bass beats for good measure.
- 1st singer sings lyrics in whiny nasally voice.
- Background singer screams his ass off throughout the
song in counterpoint to the 1st singer's tormented lyrics.
When I first heard Thursday I thought this was an interesting
sound. My interest lasted for about two tracks before I
removed the disc from my player and promptly threw it out
on the road. My question for all the bands that have since
played this exact same song style, are you really that
uncreative? There is nothing original on The Scene
Queen Reigns Supreme. It is just as modern hip as
talking about the so called hipster scene. Black hair, ironic
too-tight t-shirts, and overly sentimental lyrics are no longer
original.
The Tokyo Smash have succeeded in smashing my brain
into total boredom with their tough guy music and lyrics of
their sad tortured middle class white-kid problems. Please
find a new way to express your total depression and hard
life.
There is one positive thing to say about The Scene
Queen Reigns Supreme; the production is pretty nice,
so if you want to make sure to hear all the ingredients of
derivative modern music, you'll not be disappointed with this
album.
I like the Tokyo Smash better than I like Thursday just for
the fact that the singer's voice isn't quite as nasal and
annoying, but he uses it in exactly the same way, and that's
not a compliment. |
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