Search - Shonen Knife :: Yama No Attchan

Shonen Knife's sophomore album better than debut

Daniel J. Hamlow | Narita, Japan | 06/02/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Osaka trio Shonen Knife's 1984 album and their sophomore effort, Yama No Attchan, shows the ladies developing their style, 70's power-pop meets the Beatles. The song titles and the themes are funny and bizarre, which makes for some entertaining listening. The songs and their sound seem more minimalist compared to their later oeuvre.



"An Angel Has Come" a.k.a. "Tenshi ga Yattekita" has some strong pounding basslines from Michie Nakatani, also the song's author, as well as some Beatles-like harmonies in the chorus. Bicycle bells and Nakatani's bass introduce the skiffle-like "Cycling Is Fun" or "Saikuringu wa tanoshii" about the fun of working up a sweat and traveling down roads not on maps on one's bike.



A Bo Diddley-like rhythm and distorted fuzz guitar features "Elmer Elevator." The title boy is the main character in the trilogy of children's books by Ruth Stiles Gannett. The reference to riding on a dragon's back has to do with his companion Boris, the yellow and blue striped dragon he befriends, though I don't recall him being capricious or hating almond chocolate per the song.



Can you imagine a song about wearing a large banana leaf and falling down a deep hole. Well, "Banana Leaf" is such a song. The protagonist tears the leaf in two and then, get this: "I recovered from a sick mind." Weird, yeah. Again, strong bass from Nakatani dominates this song.



"Chinese Song" I heard from the US compilation that combined their first two albums, which a friend loaned me. Stereotypical Chinese-style music is played on the guitar, while the refrain "kon ran kon ran" is an onomatopoeia of the hoards of Chinese riding their bikes or walking in their uniforms. A simple but silly song with a cool rhythm.



The upbeat "Flying Jelly Attack" heightens the silliness. While the protagonist declares she's eating jelly beans and her friend's gonna eat cherry drops, the next verse has them throwing their candy at each other-hence the jelly attack. This has the formulaic fuzzy Shonen Knife guitar sound that coloured their 712 album. A live version is one of the bonus tracks and has a rawer garage sound than the studio album.



"Cannibal Papaya" or "Hitokui Papaya"? You read right in this dub reggae meets the Knack's "My Sharona" where the title fruit, the bane of the southern country people, eat their fruit crops.



A marching-style bass, whizzing space age sounds, and leisure guitar dominates the mid-paced "Insect Collector," which is just about that. The live version is the other bonus track.



This album is Shonen Knife in the making, and it is much better than their debut album, Burning Farm. But at least, all the songs here are in Japanese. Nearly as good as Pretty Little Baka Guy."

Don't get rid of your Gasatanka CD, the live tracks stink.

Michael A. Arlt | Wilmington, De. | 02/26/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Here it is folks, the second (actually third) Knife release. The sound is better on this than the 1990 Gasatanka 2-fer CD, much smoother and less harsh. Audio science has come far in the last 15 years. Oglio should have copied the 1995 MCA Japanese disc with the studio tracks, the two live bonus tracks are horrible. They sound like they came from a 6th generation cassette copy that was recorded by someone in the middle of the room. The studio bonus tracks were much nicer. The surprise here is a alternate (or studio re-make) of Dali's Sunflower, if you want the studio original that was on the "Yama" album, you better find the self titled CD on Gasatanka/Giant. Not bad but could have been better."