Shonen Knife

Super Group (Good Charamel)

By Melissa Bobbitt
Published: September 3rd, 2009 | 7:00am

"Everybody's feeling satisfaction!" proclaims Naoko Yamano on the opening track of Super Group, the latest album by legendary Japanese trio Shonen Knife. It would be criminal to disagree with that — after more than 25 years of creating exquisite garage rock, the music remains as satisfying and resilient as ever.

The 11-song collection dabbles in the perky alternative fare that the group patented long ago, but translates it into material even today's weary listeners could enjoy. The theme here is never settling for complacency; for Shonen Knife, it's all or nothing. The band alludes to the unyielding fight for women's suffrage in the bipolar "Jet" and encourages pigging out, not dainty nibbling, in the summery strains of "BBQ Party." And amid breezy guitars, subways screeches, and telephones, "Na Na Na" demands a quenching of desires: "I am very thirsty / Close to the limits of my patience," Yamano sings.

The cheery, J-pop sheen is juxtaposed with sinister hammer-ons and Sabbath-y riffs on "Muddy Bubbles Hell." And just like the Powerpuff Girls (who Shonen Knife wrote a song for earlier this decade), this barnburner demonstrates an inner feistiness underneath the innocent exterior. In the same vein, "Pyramid Power" shows muscle and a resemblance toward the Frumpies. The determined march of Etsuko Nakanishi's drumming barrels over one's synapses. And if that doesn't ensnare ears, newcomer Ritsuko Taneda's warm bass inflections will ("Slug" is a testament to her allure).

And no one does levity like these ladies, either. The trio wards off "Evil Birds" in the bonus track, fending off pesky avian visitors with a flute solo and girl-group charisma. On the opposite end of the aural spectrum, "Deer Biscuits" is a ramblin' honky tonk piece where they talk crap — literally.

Super Group is yet another shining example of Shonen Knife's staying power. It's the kind of record that goes down well with a glass of lemonade, the sun's rays, and a good bit of feminist lit.

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