 Sheena
and the Rokkets are best known in the west for their second,
self-titled album (if you're an older record geek you've possibly
picked it up, or at least seen it.)
In Japan, they're a cornerstone of 80s rock 'n' roll, having played
with absolutely everyone (Elvis Costello, The Ramones, etc.) and
recorded with a who's who of Japanese rock (Miki Curtis, Son House, the
entirety of Yellow Magic Orchestra.) They recently celebrated their
30th year with a new album, "Japanik" (we'll be getting to that one
shortly.)
Their catalog is, understandably, a daunting prospect. As of this
writing, their website lists seventeen distinct, novel releases, not
including compilations. While it may be tempting to start with the self
titled album, I'd personally recommend "New Hippies," their first album
for JVC records, and the album where they truly came into their own,
mixing the dizzying array of styles (punk, soul, straight up pop,
snotty rock 'n' roll) with a driving confidence.
Sheena and the Rokkets are a band that, single friendly as they may be,
is best appreciated in album length, simply to show how many different
facets they can bring together under one banner. Unlike, say, the
Ramones, they didn't just shoehorn different styles to crunchy guitars:
they went full on, taking something like Motown pop whole, and simply
adding their own particular brand of drive ("Sweet Inspiration," which
somehow manages to maintain an undercurrent of menace in sunny
circumstances.)
By that same token, they can maintain a surprising level of
abrasiveness and still keep it within the bounds of catchiness. "Back
Door Man" (not the standard, but an original) sees guitarist/vocalist
Makoto Ayukawa show off some seriously unhinged singing, with musical
backing that brings to mind Alice Cooper's classic "I'm Eighteen," but
even more enraged, with the song spilling over into out and out noise.
Then, whiplash: Sheena steps up for "Non-Non Ningyo" ("Non-Non
Mermaid,") all sweetness, 60s girl pop, and gentle sentiment. Sheena
and Ayukawa trade off like this, balancing and challenging each other,
but never spilling over into pastiche. By all rights, "New Hippies" should
sound like a mixtape, a schizophrenic wild mood swing. That it doesn't
is testament to the singularity of the band's focus, and their ability
to integrate while keeping immediacy intact.
You can practically hear Puffy being born on "Friction Drive," Sheena's
double tracked vocals eerily reflecting the rock duo's harmonies.
There's also the straight up Stax soul of "Boogie Baby," a track that
forgoes the nostalgia and retains the original grit. Ayukawa's tracks
often bring to mind the hoary old cliché that talent borrows,
but genius steals: "Rock 'n' Roll King Size" takes Chuck Berry's
"Maybeline" and recasts it as a barrelhouse boogie, whereas "Koi O
Shiyoze" ("Let's Make Love") is "California Sun," "Nobody But Me" and
"Shout!" stitched together in a Frankenstein monster that is pushed
over the top by his just-this-side-of-out-of-control delivery.
Sheena and the Rokkets might be technically classified as
"punk," like many of their 80s contemporaries (Elvis Costello, The
Stranglers, The Ramones,) but like those artists they're really just a
rock 'n' roll band with an extra helping of assault, injecting new
blood into old forms that, at that time, were just starting to show
signs of complacency. Even now, thirty years after their inception,
they can still deliver live, having taken the stage after such
adrenaline drenched acts as Guitar Wolf and Midori, without the
slightest dip in energy. "New Hippies" is the sound of the band taking
the reins fully, a high octane effort with one foot in the past, and
the other kicking your ass. Recommended.
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Available through Amazon Japan (Japanese only.)
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