Fanclub Rockin'
Blues
| Official
site
 |
 |
 |
Gear
Blues CD
Double LP (colored vinyl - ltd.) |
Collection
CD |
Rodeo
Tandem
Beat Specter CD |
|
Never mind the Hives
-- PLEASE -- coz Here's the Real (guitar-chewing, possibly ironic
even) Thing, direct from Tokyo no less, with one high-thrash,
hour-plus overview of their big loud career to date. Yessir,
"Collection" is stuffed full of every single one of
TMGE's Should've Been Greatest Hits, each deftly bridging that
gap between Johnny Kidd, The Stooges, Mooney Suzuki and well
beyond. Why, the very first track, "Pinhead Cramberry Dance,"
actually DOES live up to its Song Title Of The Year (whilst sounding
somewhat as if the Stray Cats truly were COOL Cats). But then
"Why Do You Want To Shake?" proves, once and hopefully
for all, that that Clash certainly was NOT the Only Band That
Mattered ª, whilst along similar fine lines "GT 400"
and especially "Baby, Please Go Home" must certainly
have Joey the Ramone Blitzkrieg Bopping within someone's grave,
you betcha. - Gary Pig Gold / In
Music We trust |
|
I
don't know where the Japanese equivalent of the Motor City is,
but Thee Michelle Gun Elephant must be from near there. The quartet's
third U.S. album, Rodeo Tandem Beat Specter is a triumph
of high-octane, melodic proto-punk in the tradition of the Stooges
and the MC5. It's easy to tell on
songs like "The Loneliness Of The Citroen" and "My
Heart With Its Brakes Broken Loose" that subjects of love
and cars are dominant images. The rhythm section of bassist Koji
Ueno and drummer Kazuyuki Kuhara provides the horsepower. The
flash comes from the soaring bluesy-punk rock lines of guitarist
Futoshi Abe. Topped off with singer Yusuke Chiba's gruff, emotional
bleats, this is some good ol' foot-stomping, head-shaking stuff.
- Brian J. Bowe / Creem
Magazine |
| I didn't get this one until I strapped
on the headphones and hit the tanning bed. I suggest you all
take T.M.G.E. nude, (and I mean naked- no nail polish, no jewelry,
no sunscreen, totally fucking buck), and sweaty, with full concentration.
The name references the never famous but fantastic bummer phyche-rock-spazz
Texas unit The Mike Gunn, the sound abstracts the wasted anarchy
hippie rock of the live MC5 and their Brit cousins The Pink Fairies/Deviants
into a pure stream of notes, bashing and chords-soaking up tension
and attack from the last thirty years of hard ass indie stuff.
I mean cool stuff , The Wipers, Halo of Flies, Rocket from the
Crypt's non-horn driven stuff, At The Drive In (minus any emo-sociation),
The Outskirts of Infinity and their Japanese Compatriots - High
Rise, White Heaven and the wonderful PSF Label. Let it all roil
and boil down, stretch it out accordingly to let it breath, drone,
kick in and come back home. Recorded in clean and natural sound
there seems be no reason the next time you win the lottery you
shouldn't fund these guys ,Acid Ape, Volume and Dead Meadow for
a month in the 'ole U.S. of A. - Craig Regala / Lollipop |
| Most nuevo-Detroit garage punk these
days strips down or funk ups, forgetting that some of the genius
of the Stooges rusted metal nastiness was that as raw as everything
sounds, Iggy had pretentions of being an artiste. This
cadre of Japanese music-destroyers achieves "Garage"
detonation, but they do it from a bolder, blunter more insane
fever than many of their contemporaries. This is one of the best
live and recording bands out there, and whatever they are howling
I don't need a translation; I agree wholeheartedly!
- Roctober |
| Japan's garage-y psych-punk messiahs
unleash another torrent of rattled guitars on unsuspecting Americans
via Alive. Well call the Orafice for Homeblown Security; this
is a dastardly attack indeed. Like having the Clash's "Brand
New Cadillac" reworked into burly wall of melodious fuzz,
with the vocalist from Assault busting larynx on your ass, this
is not you everyday rhythm nation punk rock. Rather, it appears
to be some kind of psychedelic, rockabilly, punk rock miasma;
a wall of thunder from the East that will set your fuzz phaser
to stun, and blow whatever you had left of that Krako "system"
you got running in that pile of shit you and I call a "car".
I swear on my swollen glands; if Thee Michelle Gun Elephant were
shucking their jive in English, the track "Abakareta Sekai
(The World Exposed)" would have every dumb isolationist
prick and their mother asking who the hell the Hives are? Because
TMGE would be bigger than a basement tub full of White Stripes
CD's. - Michael Farr / Punkrock |
| Trouncing eardrums like Godzilla on
a serious vendetta trip is TMGE with Rodeo Tandem Beat Specter.
Although TMGE shares a language, a history and a love for garage
and punk with Guitar Wolf, its execution is considerably more
refined. This isn't to say the adrenaline levels are not elevated
on Rodeo, but TMGE shows more reverence for song dynamics. -
Matt Ryan / Magnet |
| TMGE kicks some fuckin'
ass. They are the Japanese Hellacopters; the rising sun's Radio
Birdman; the East's New Bomb Turks. The future will see them
finally putting out an album in English, and when they do, they'll
be the talk of the town. - Matt Vermin / Culture
Bunker |
| Rodeo Tandem Beat Specter is derivative as the
next rock recidivist, but the band rocks like Johnny Thunders.
The guitars are torid and Yusuke Chiba's vocals need no translation.
- Leopold Froehlich / Playboy |
| A
decidedly bluesy undercurrent permeates the whole shebang while
the drugged-out quality is fueled by equal doses of saki and
psychedelics, at times coming out surfy, like on "Alligator
Night," and at others, swampy, like "Mona Lisa."
Through it all, singer Yasuke Chiba howls fractured lyrics in
broken English or more dementedly in Japanese. English translations
are included, and songs like "The World Exposed," "Turkey"
and "Margaret" are twisted and heady stuff. Quintessential
rock layering at a flat-out pace provide a base for Chiba's primal
freak-outs. Chock full of swagger and brilliance, Rodeo Tandem
Beat Specter is as tasty as sushi and as powerful as Godzilla.
-Paul Bearer / Columbus Alive |
| You
know the ol' cliché: "Music is the universal language."
It's actually true when it comes to this fun powerhouse Japanese
rock band, every bit the equal of their overhyped "new rock"
brethren in the United States and Sweden. Pounding, complex tempos meet chugging guitars
and alternately sung/harangued vocals in Japanese on most of
"Rodeo." Rarely letting up from its relentless pace
the album is punk, rockabilly and '70s blues-rock all rolled
into one eccentric but undeniably thrilling package. Highlights
like "The World Exposed" and "The Redhead Kelly"
are perfect examples of how melodious and catchy aggressive rock
can be, and the Elephant are truly great when they let their
early-rock influences show, as on the hyperactive "Baby
Stardust" or the Fall-meets-Stray-Cats mayhem of "Bird
Land Cindy." Even when the songwriting isn't so good, as
in the repetitive blues of "Mona Lisa," the unhinged
guitar playing makes up for it. - Mark Earnest / Reno Gazette-Journal.
Rating: 3 1/2 stars (out of 4) |
| TMGE's Rodeo Tandem
Beat Specter absolutely and completely rocks. Steeped deep in
1970s distortion rock, raw 1980s punk and staggering, uncontrollable
1950s rock-a-billy, this is yet another top-notch entry into
a very, very rich chronology of art. And if you've gotta hear it
(and I say you should, indeed,) there's no denying "Citroen
No Kodoku," the rollicking roadside glory of "Alligator
Night," the moody and heart-wrenching "Mona Lisa"
and the insane goodness of "Margaret" to shoot some
natural drugs into your vein. Who the hell knows what that
band and CD title mean at all but this Elephant is one helluva
tora, tora, tora of wild rock'n'roll. And don't let the fact
that it's not in English stop you from checking this one out.
I mean, it's not like you can understand most English-speaking
rock singers out there, anyway. - Bill / Technopunkmusic |
|
