Without trying to sound like a furious racist, the Japanese are a strange and wonderful race. Obsessed with progression, be it technological or social, and home to some of the strangest companies, people and of course, bands, on the planet, Japan is a total enigma to the outside world. Husking Bee are one of Japan’s biggest underground bands (According to the website drawl) and were picked up a couple of years ago by Doghouse Records, home of the All American Rejects and As Friends Rust, amongst others. They re-released a couple of Japan only records and then embarked upon recording their debut US full length for their new label. Recorded by Mark Trombino and released in 2001, ‘Four Color Problem’ is a master class in how to write perfect three and a half minute pop rock songs in the vein of Gameface or Jimmy Eat World.
Utterly charming and fit to burst with jangly guitars, mildly throaty vocals and chorus’ the size of Antarctica, ‘Four Color Problem’ is a fantastically upbeat album that manages to retain that underlying sense of tragedy and moodiness that gripped some of the Get Up Kids‘ best songs. ‘#4′ throws a total curveball however, as it rips open the album with a burst of bass heavy hardcore rumbling, before morphing into a two minute pop song with a sing a long chorus. The trend is continued through the albums standout track, the bizarrely titled ‘A Small Potato’s Mind’ which just screams out to be sung along to, a feat which is made immensely difficult due to the lyrics being entirely in Japanese. Curiously, I still find myself attempting to phonetically mumble the words as the guitars wash over me despite not having a fucking clue what they are singing about. Clearly the sign of a band with an ear for a blood-curdlingly good melody.
This trend continues throughout the albums twelve tracks before it ends on the delightfully abstract ‘Day Break’. Whispered vocals draped over a mid-paced electronic drumbeat with a drizzling of synthesiser provide a wonderfully relaxing end to a fantastically charming record. While admittedly, a number of the songs are a little overlong, even the four and a half minutes of ‘the Sun And The Moon’ are enjoyable to the very last second. The All American Rejects really should take a note from their label mates on how to write this sort of thing without being sickly sweet or increasingly annoying over the space of 12 songs.
While the use of strings and synthesisers may be a little pretentious or overbearing in the hands of some bands, Husking Bee use them to perfection. These things should be used as an addition to the melody, not as a basis for a song (in this genre anyway) and Husking Bee understand this, sprinkling them liberally throughout the record to add that extra layer to their compositions. Luckily, they are far from being a one trick pony. ‘Sketch’ bounds out of the starting blocks at a furious pace while ‘By Chance’ sounds unnervingly like the excellent Park. ‘Untitled 1′ is a semi acoustic number that manages to shy away from the trap of being slow and laboured (like a certain Dashboard Confessional or similar bands) and ‘Still In the Same Place?’ brings to mind the heyday of The Lemonheads.
The best way to describe Husking Bee is to say they are utterly charming. ‘Four Color Problem’ is absolutely drenched in sunny pop melodies while retaining a sense of the morose and the tragic and the Japanese lyrics, far from being a setback, actually add to the aura of the record. Perfect for when you’re feeling down, perfect for when you’re feeling great and it even manages to sound awesome when you’re just plain bored. A total bolt from the blue for me that has slowly become one of my most treasured albums.
Ross