Japanese Fighting Fish - Just Before We Go Mad
by Adrian Huggins
published: 6 / 4 / 2011
Label:
Vandal Records
Format: CD
intro
Fantastic debut album from experimental group Japanese Fighting Fish, one of the the stand-out bands on the excellent Leeds scene
Anyone that pays attention to anything that this insignificant little reviewer has written over the last few years will of course have noticed my admiration and love of the bands from the other city in Yorkshire – Leeds. And here’s another amazing band from there. Japanese Fighting Fish, however, stand out a little bit more even than the inspiring, unique, envelope-pushing bands Leeds that dominate the Leeds community. Citing bands such as Faith No More, Captain Beefheart and the Queens of the Stone Age among their influences,it pleases me greatly to say that those influences shine through and they are worthy of being compared to all of them. I do hear a definite slab of Mr Bungle in there particularly in the vocals of the singer Karlost, and the way the songs take the least logical direction at the drop of a hat. ‘Baltic Whistler’ sums this up nicely and does actually sound like a man losing the plot - it's brilliant. ‘Boots’ sounds like what you would get if Mike Patton and Tom Waits somehow (I don’t know how. I’m not a scientist) merged into one person and then made some gypsy party music. Everything about Japanese Fighting Fish is fantastic. Some bands just have it all, an incredible frontman, excellent lead guitar – that doesn’t twiddle too much, but still excites at every given opportunity - and of course all this is nothing without a stunning rhythm section to hold it all together. Japanese Fighting Fish have all this and much, much more. You could pick almost any of those elements out as the stand out part – stunning riffs, ass-shaking afro-rhythms or Karlost's vocals. But they blend all of them together. Look no further than the hypnotic ‘Blood and Sand’ for a fine example of this. Amazing. Go find them!
Track Listing:-
1 Johnny Sideways2 Jesta
3 Dirty Wilson
4 Boots
5 Sick Of Waiting
6 Blood And Sand
7 Baltic Whistler
8 Blue Eyes
9 Dry One
10 Sa La Lar
Band Links:-
http://www.japanesefightingfish.co.uk/https://www.facebook.com/Japanesefightingfishuk
https://twitter.com/JFFUK
http://www.songkick.com/artists/2397892-japanese-fighting-fish
soundcloud
reviews |
Day Bomb (2013) |
Urgent and compelling second album from improvisational lo-fi act Japanese Fighting Fish, which was recorded and mixed in garages and warehouses in their native London and New York |
most viewed articles
current edition
Screamin' Cheetah Wheelies - Sala Apolo, Barcelona, 29/11/2023 and La Paqui, Madrid, 30/11/2023Anthony Phillips - Interview
Difford and Tilbrook - Difford and Tilbrook
Rain Parade - Interview
Oldfield Youth Club - Interview
Autumn 1904 - Interview
Shaw's Trailer Park - Interview
Cafe No. 9, Sheffield and Grass Roots Venues - Comment
Chris Hludzik - Vinyl Stories
Pete Berwick - ‘Too Wild to Tame’: The story of the Boyzz:
most viewed reviews
current edition
Serious Sam Barrett - A Drop of the Morning DewRod Stewart and Jools Holland - Swing Fever
Marika Hackman - Big Sigh
Loves - True Love: The Most of The Loves
Ian M Bailey - We Live in Strange Times
Paul McCartney and Wings - Band on the Run
Autumn 1904 - Tales of Innocence
Roberta Flack - Lost Takes
Banter - Heroes
Posey Hill - No Clear Place to Fall
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart