Search - All Tomorrow's Party :: Yoo Doo Right, Yoo Doo Slide

Spacey power pop gold

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 09/15/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Velvet Underground and Can references (in the band's name and album title, respectively) provide touchpoints for this Japanese trio's sound, but the bulk of their work is less edgy than VU and less avant-garde than Can. More accurate comparisons would be to modern-day power-pop rockers like Teenage Fanclub, Smashing Pumpkins, or the 70s-obsessed work of Matthew Sweet. What sets ATP apart is that their guitar base is leavened by trippy psychedelic space-rock flavors like the backward electric guitar played against strummed acoustics on "Sure Love" or the bass-heavy opening jam "Sympathy for the Junkies."



Fronted by guitarist/vocalist Tetsuo Kitame, the band takes notes from '60s psych stalwarts like the 13th Floor Elevators and Electric Prunes, but without turning themselves into a retro act. The buzzing guitars and droning vocals fit into a modern context that's aware of the raw energy of '70s punk, '80s grunge and more recent rock revivals. What's especially impressive is that the music doesn't pinpoint any of its sources, instead the songs skim, mix and rearrange elements of each, creating music that's got the DIY glee of punk, the muscle of grunge, and the daydream artfulness of space-psych. [©2005 hyperbolium dot com]"