Coquettish plays some pretty damn hardcore punk rock. I didn�t even have to listen to High Energy Politics to figure this out. When a band has songs called �Fuck War, Unity,� and �Brain Wash,� and only one song on the album clocks in at over 3 minutes (it�s 3 minutes and 1 second), you know they play punk rock. When the band photos show all the band members with X�s over their eyes, you know they�re pretty damn hardcore.
Coquettish comes from Yokohama, which is a city in a country most people know as Japan. They have a new album, High Energy Politics, on Monte Sereno, California�s Asian Man Records. This is the band�s first release since the EP Total Pops Madness came out more than four years ago. Produced by Dan Lukacinsky of the Suicide Machines, this album offers 13 tracks of energetic and political ska punk. I�m starting to suspect this is why the album is called High Energy Politics, but I could be entirely wrong.
Coquettish may not be doing anything radically different as far as their style goes, but what they do, they do well. They throw enough ska into the mix to keep things fresh and energetic without taking away any of the music�s rawness or edge. While most of the songs dwell on angst and alienation, they never get too whiny or preachy, and there are also some songs dealing with lighter (yet still quintessentially punk rock-ish) subjects, like �Caffeinaholic� and �Skate Days.�
In the end, not a lot needs to be said a bout Coquettish. The music can stand out on its own, and while some may accuse them of doing nothing new, the music is anything but stale. Any fans of ska punk will be happy enough with this release, and I managed to get through this whole review without saying anything about Operation Ivy.
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L.B. '05 |
