Another day, another slightly-better-than-average band. Glaswegians Japan 4 (I'd be interested in the thinking behind the random name) are the latest to chance their arm with a brand of "fuckin' punk rock" as I read somewhere - more commonly known as pop-punk with fast bits. I gather this 3-tracker is a sampler of the band's forthcoming 7-song mini-album, so I'm guessing they're sending out CDs for a few press quotes and the like, which I guess is fair play. Anyway, the band, who claim to be influenced by Bad Religion and Pennywise, have been going for 18 months and can obviously play - it's just what they play is a little uninspiring.
There's little here to make these guys stick out from the pack. Sure, songs like 'I Want To See' and 'Anti Hero' are more than competent, complete with buzzsaw guitars and choppy drums, but there's nothing here with an edge - the vocals don't realy stand out and the choruses aren't hard-hitting enough. As I've mentioned, it's clear these guys can play, and the production is pretty good too, but for a 3-tracker sent out to try and grab some interest, it'd take a bit more to turn me on, so to speak.
www.japan4.co.uk
Paul
