Monday, October 27, 2008

POLYSICS are go!!!

Japanese band POLYSICS brought their new wave sounds to Prophet Bar last Friday and rocked the house. Decked out in matching jumpsuits and future shades they were reminiscent of Devo. They sound a lot like Devo as well but much more frenetic. It was clear that the band was having as much fun onstage as those of us in attendance were having. Several attendees wore their own handcrafter Polysics jumpsuits. There were also several audience members that were in cosplay mode, no doubt a reflection of the band's having tapped into the rabid anime followers found on these shores.

The set featured several songs from the band's new album - We Ate the Machine - as well as many of the songs featured on their "best of" compilation from several years back [Polysics Or Die!!!]. And of course there heavy vocoder usage. But when was the last time you went to a show that featured a recorder solo? Polysics can be full of surprises.

Opening act Black Gold churned out a brief set of hook heavy power pop that seemed to go over well with those who arrived early. The second act - Jaguar Love - were at times amazing and other times extremely grating. Their sound harkened back to classic Detroit soul and garage rock. Their vocalist sang out in the most high-pitched voice I've heard since Ween's "Push the Little Dasies" [I suspect there was some vocal trickery being performed by their sound guy]. One's enjoyment of JL's set clearly hinged on how well one enjoyed his shrieking and shaking.

All in all it was a fun way to spend a Friday evening. I'll definitely check out Polysics again next time they come through town.

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