Scouse pop with guitars – it doesn’t sound like the most apetising of concoctions, but in places Tokyo Adventures are a very good band indeed. It’s just a pity consistency isn’t at the top of their agenda. Based in Birkenhead, the band draw influence from “70’s punk to 80’s pop to 90’s rock to nu-millenium scouse house and euro-pop.” It makes them an interesting bunch musically because they don’t tend to stick to one particular well known sound, meaning they can switch from sounding like bands such as Ash to Weezer in the space of a song.
This is a very poppy record; the guitars chug away nicely but the vocals tend to let this down a little. The three-part harmonies work well in places – ‘Goodbye Ricky Wade’ and ‘My Engine’ stand out – whilst in others the band fall down by perhaps trying too hard. For all the good moments, there are some really bad songs – ‘Diagnosis: ill’ is dreadfully out of tune vocally, while ‘Euclidean distance’ seems to potter along with a wailing vocal that doesn’t flatter. It’s a pity because there are some really good parts here, but for someone who likes their vocals in tune (or auto-tuned I suppose), this is a little too rough on the ears…
www.tokyoadventures.com
Boss Tuneage
Paul