Search - Polysics :: Neu

Happy accident

Elliott Brown | San Francisco | 02/12/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I bought Polysics' "Neu" by mistake. With the Japanese characters on its side and its Lichtenstein-inspired cover, I thought it was a Japanese import belonging to the kraut rock outfit Neu! which had somehow it slipped into bargain bin obscurity. Boy was I wrong.This album sounds like The Pixes playing at a circus rave, or Devo run through a distortion petal with someone playing video games in the background, or maybe Primus doing a cover of the new age rap song at the end of Revenge of the Nerds. The music is simpler than other Japanese avant garde outfits (like the Boredoms), but way more accessible and catchy. Most of this album's songs are built around guitar riffs that recall The Ramones and early Pretenders. Add rythm that comes equally from live instruments and Casio keyboards, bouncy organ, odd electronic blips and buzzes, and aggressive vocals via vocoder and megaphone and you begin to get the picture.While I am thrilled to have discovered these guys, it defintely takes a little bit of effort to get into this stuff. This music demonstrates an amazing array of influences, but it also sometimes feels a little bit like the inner workings of the mind of a kid with ADD after a six pack of Jolt Cola. It's not too heavy, though -- just bouncy and manic -- something to listen to on the way to work, but not when you've got a headache on the way home. This is a great buy if your tastes in music can be described as adventurous. If you use the words "acoustic," "subtle," "sanguine" or "mellow" to describe your preferences, Neu is not up your alley."

New Wave Spazzcore Punk Electro Bliss...

Matthew Jaworski | Detroit, MI | 10/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can't stop smiling...I love this CD. This is the freshest thing I have heard in awhile. For those that don't know, Polysics are 4 Japanese youths who have extensively worshipped at the alter of Devo. The music put forth by Polysics is akin to a more punk-rock, electrocuted Devo. Exellent space-age synth work, pounding drums, angular guitars, and vocoder; mashed together into snappy little new wave gems. This band completly rocks. If you ever found yourself wondering what Devo would sound like if they were more punk rock, on speed, with more syntesizers this is it. At the moment, this is my favorite disc....Highly reccomended to those who want something snappy, spastic, new, retro, and fresh..."

Pitchforkmedia Review; 8.3 out of 10.0

treblekicker | Houston, TX | 09/18/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Hard to believe it's been two years since Polysics unleashed their Stateside debut, Hey! Bob! My Friend!, but their triumphant return couldn't have come at a better time. Released to critical fanfare (particularly from your pals at Pitchfork) but criminally overlooked by the indie masses, Hey! Bob! hit just ahead of the cusp of the 80s resurgence-- roughly a year before the genres the band holds so dear (new-wave, no-wave, electro) were embraced by every hipster with a gaggle of Contortions records and a jones for hot-pink. A shame, too, as that record's brilliantly unhinged Devo-via-Japanoise deconstructionist ditties are still head and shoulders above most of the art-punk flotsam that's been released since.Intent to stay one full step ahead of the rest of the world-- or more likely just too hyper to sit still-- Polysics have forged ahead with Neu, now rocking a style one might describe as "abrasive electronic post-punk." The influence of the record's namesake is conspicuously absent this time around (it was only mildly detectable on the last record, with the exception of some distinctly motorik drumming); the band has instead opted to expose more of its no-wave roots: Neu hiccups and jerks in a manner more consistent with Polysics' U.S. contemporaries than any of avant-prog/psych-rock shredders more commonly associated with their homeland. In fact, tracks like the dizzying "MS-17" and the completely ballistic guitar frenzy of "Urge On!" place them in the same ballpark as Williamsburg's current cream-of-the-crop.More than any other current act, Polysics display not just the desire, but also the deranged nervous energy and raw talent, to inherit the spaz-rock throne left vacant by 90s Moog-core heroes (and fellow Devo enthusiasts) Brainiac. "Xct"'s bizarre synth squiggles, vocoder interjections, and delirious vocalizations conjure the ghost of the dearly departed Timmy Taylor, while "X-Rays (This is My Life)" absolutely nails that familiar Brainiac hip-shake groove.But Polysics aren't leaving without turning their own unique signatures into trademarks. "Making Sense", all preening vocals and "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)"-style synths, is Neu's poppiest highlight: with radioactive blurts and choppy digibeat accents taking its pummeling drum fills and overdriven guitar riffs hostage, it updates and reinvents the brightest moments of the New Romantic era with more charisma and creativity than any club full of electroclashing fashionista goons could ever hope to. And "What", the album's sole downtempo track, sits on a laid-back groove encrusted with familiar vocodered vocals, providing a brief abeyance from the rest of the album's raving-mad paroxysms.Despite this record's spazcore conviction-- the antithesis of traditional, hipster-defined "cool"-- Neu rages and rants in total style. Today's musical climate is far more hospitable toward this kind of rampant, maniacal depravity, and with the album's beefed-up, more varied, and generally more rock nature updating Hey! Bob!'s nerdy new-wavisms, Polysics are destined for the top of the neo-no-wave heap. Here's hoping Neu won't go unnoticed.-Brad Hurst, September 5th, 2003"