Out In The Street – Angel Face (Slovenly Recordings)
Catchier than the Tokyo subway, “Out In The Street” is the second album for Tokyo’s Angel Face, and any fan of Real Kids or The Boys needs a copy – pronto. It’s 10 songs of no-nonsense, melodic street punk that the world deserves to hear.
I caught these guys in the flesh at the Tokyo Halloween Ball a couple of years ago and they were impressive over a weekend that delivered an embarrassment of riches. That may have been one of their earliest gigs because Angel Face have only been around a few years.
They’ve already put another long-player, a European festival date and a short US tour under their belts. Hercules (vocals), Fink (guitar), Toyozo (bass) and Rayco (drums) have the Japanese work ethic and their productivity would put most of their overseas contemporaries in a cardiac ward.
But onto the LP and the dgital single “Out In The Night” was a harbinger: Razor-edge guitars and a guttural, ragged chorus. Hercules’ edgy vocal weaves its way through a three-minute pop blitz.
There’s a pedigree behind the band: Toyozo doubles as mainman for The Fadeaways, for most people’s money the uncrowned kings of the small but perfectly formed Tokyo garage rock scene, while Fink has a familial link to Teengenerate. There’s a bit of them in the sound of Angel Face - although this recording sounds cleaner than most of their records. It's punchy with great separation, even though it’s a rehearsal studio job.
A vintage Dee Dee count-in ushers “Wastin’ Time” and its undulating melody line and lyrics slagging mainstream radio are irresistible. Rayco’s up and down tempos add an odd touch, but the song’s so good you’ll also forgive Fink his fondness for that phaser pedal.
Toyozo’s surging bass-line propels “Leave Tonight” like a bullet train. It’s well-arranged and for mine the pick of the 10 songs.
There are echoes of ‘50s greaser rock in the stuttering “Let Me Go” and “Days In The Haze” recall a similarly disposed Clash in their heyday. The twin-tracked guitar on “Press Your Luck” takes things to the next level “Let’s Go” would give an early Ratcat a run in the punk rock power-pop stakes.
You now know what to do. The link is below.
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