Polysics - We Ate The Machine

  by Maarten Schiethart

published: 26 / 8 / 2008

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Review

If only I could know what Japan's Polysics were on about lyrically. Those monsters of hard-hitting devoid bubblegum pop music, Polysics, have pulled the trick off once again. Track one off 'We Ate The Machine' - the third consecutive Polysics album under threat of no release in Britain - is like the Ramones on a healthy diet, track two combines a Plastic Bertrand chorus over a Spizz Energi riff. Swift changes indeed and you'd better be prepared for more still. The fun continues on 'Rocket' which defies a comparison other than to Polysics themselves. All sails set on 'Kikai Tabechaimashita' which is another punky belter ending up in an unwitnessed frenzy. 'DNA Junction' features the most unlikely tango and ragtime piano riffs melting together with a chorus in Japanese, and I suppose this is what alienated and halted Uncle Sam from really listening in at the time of the original April release in Japan. An anthem even less likely to be understood is 'Kagayake' but at this stage you probably already are nothing but all ears to Polysics. Next, 'Pony And Lion' sounds as if it came from dispatched mouth pieces. Supposedly this track would serve well on the LP's A-Side closing track, if only there ever was an LP. 'We Ate The Machine' fits all the clichés and descriptions we keep for overwhelming experiences. Rendered within an idiom plus a language of which we don't have the slightest clue, Polysics press on in their own vein regardless. Ruthlessly, Polysics carry on as if devout punky monks and nuns on parole. 'Arigatou' kicks off 'Side B' in an electro clash manner before stage-diving into a punky explosion. 'Mind Your Head' follows next and seems very sane advice indeed. The core messages come in English as choruses of some kind, but, however, the avalanche of Polysics' rhymes and rhythms leaves us westerners jumping up and down the unknown. So, this is what we call innocent pleasure! The album draws to a close on a magnificent whirlwind on 'Dry And Wet'. As the trashing punk chords all fall in the right places, you will have just gone through the smartest delirium ever. Mass-media manipulator Murdoch will release 'We Ate The Machine' with the Polysics' previous 'Karate House' album on vinyl as a 2LP set on MySpace Records.

Track Listing:-

1 Moog is Love
2 Pretty Good
3 Rocket
4 I ate the machine
5 DNA Junction
6 Kagayake
7 Pony & Lion
8 Arigato
9 Irotokage
10 Mind Your Head
11 Digital Coffee
12 Boys & Girls
13 Blue Noise
14 Dry or Wet