It’s amazing how relevant Shonen Knife‘s 2016 album, Adventure, is to a world emerging from a pandemic in which we were shut in our homes. Shonen Knife have always been one of the most optimistic bands on the planet, and I’ve always believed it’s impossible to be sad if one of their songs is playing. That enthusiasm is everything everyone needs as we leave our cocoons and get back to baseball games, the Dairy Queen, and hugging each other.
The album opens with “Jump into the New World,” with Naoko‘s lead guitar and bouncy vocals encouraging us to “Feel a bright light, yeh, yeh, with a happy song in your heart.” and “Challenge yourself, yeh, yeh, with a happy song in your heart.” “Rock ‘n’ Roll T-shirt” (with guest background vocals by Naru) is an ode to band shirts, and it’s amazing no one else before Shonen Knife thought to write a song about them. Naoko proudly declares that she wears them to bed, at shows, and everywhere else. “Calabash” has a great bass walk from Atsuko, and a saucy solo from Naoko.
“Dog Fight” (with Ritsuko on guest bass) is a story of Naoko visiting a beach and walking into a scene with two dogs engaged in a brawl. The beat and rhythm are too peppy to be depressing. “Wasabi,” with Atsuko on lead vocals, is one of many Shonen Knife’s songs about food; and, like so many others, it shreds. Risa (who is an absolute beast behind a drum kit) puts down a wicked surf beat and, thanks to Atsuko, I’ve learned that wasabi is good with avocado. Risa takes the lead vocals on “Green Tangerine (Kabosu),” which, on its face, is about eating the fruit, but, below the surface, is about embracing an unknown future.
“ImI (emoji)” is a salute to the “devil horn” sign of metal (“They say that it was created by DIO a long time ago. Keeping us away from evil harm. Now! You’ve got the power.”), and it appropriately rocks. Naoko sings about her dream vacation on “Hawaii” – a song that blends psychedelic surf guitar with Risa’s beach cook-out drums. Naru picks up the bass on “Tasmanian Devil,” another fun Shonen Knife song about a cute, furry animal that can be quite vicious. The album ends with “Cotton Candy Clouds” (with Ritsuko on backing vocals) – a lovely track about wanting to eat clouds because they look like the delicious fair food.
It’s a fun record, as is par for the course with a Shonen Knife album. They continue to make fun music and live the high life. We should all be so lucky to have an adventure like that.
Keep your mind open.
[Start a new adventure by subscribing.]
