VARIOUS ARTISTS
Japan For Sale Volume 3 (Columbia)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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This is the third in a series of samplers designed to bring US audiences up to date on the Japanese pop music scene, and it once again proves that it's a scene worth keeping up with. While music has traveled west across the Pacific successfully for years, the impact of music from the east has been relatively subdued. There have been exceptions (think Shonen Knife, Deee-Lite, Pizzicato Five), and some, like DJ Krush and Guitar Vader, are included here. Most of these musicians, though, are likely to be unfamiliar to all but the most dedicated Japanophile.

Whether it's Matally's dub groove, Mai Hoshimura's keyboard driven girl pop or Polysic's devotion to Devo, evident both in their appearance and their synth-pop stylings, there's music representative of several streams here, and at least something you definitely don't want to miss. Guitar Vader sounds pretty much as their name suggests, Mayu Kitaki will evoke memories of the Love Boat sound track and The Brilliant Green will just flat out rock your socks off. Every track has something to recommend it, and by the time you've assimilated these sounds, you'll be searching for more of some of it, maybe a lot of it.

Track List:

Goku/Time (feat. B.M.Q) * DJ Krush/The Lost Voices (feat. Sly & Robbie) * Matally/Four Seasons vs. YoYo-C * Loop Junktion/Ja:pon (feat. DJ BASS) * Polysics/ Black Out Fall Out * Guitar Vader/Super Brothers * Mai Hoshimura/Stay With You * Mayu Kitaki/Latata * The Brilliant Green/I'm A Player In T.V. Games * Kyoto Jazz Massive/ Substream * Takkyu Ishino/Gimme Some High Energy * Yoshinori Sunahara/Spiral Never Before

© 2003 - Shaun Dale