August 02, 2004
Potshot | Dance to the Potshot Record |Asian Man | Japan
buy it
Ever thought you wanted to buy an Andrew WK CD but were put off by the happy-time lyrics? Potshot may be the answer. This Japanese band is brimming with the same punky positivity, but you won't understand a word that comes out of singer/songwriter Ryoji's mouth. The catchy, deceptively simple songwriting on Dance to the Potshot Record will win over fans of the punk-ska genre.
When I first heard Ryoji sing, I knew it wasn't Japanese but didn't have a clue it was English until I opened up the lyric sheet. He's taken the Joey Ramone technique of breaking a syllable into pieces (maybe the most famous example is the "Oh-no-oh-oh-oh-oh" at the end of the verses of "I Wanna Be Sedated") and turned it into a private language, breaking English words in places a native speaker never would.
Potshot is spectacularly tight band that plays the American brand of ska that would more appropriately be called "punk with horns." Ryoji's a master of pop melody and, freed of the constraints of the normal rules of language, he uses his voice in a distinctive syncopated manner that one suspects is a lot harder than he makes it sound.
The lyrics are so over-the-top optimistic that I find myself glad I can't understand them--and yet glad they're there. Perhaps this is the opposite of the backward-masking scare of the 70's and Ryoji's positivity is effecting us even on a subliminal level. Whether or not that's so, the musical energy is infectious enough. I wouldn't say everyone will want to dance to Potshot Record, but fans of the genre shouldn't miss it.
Posted by Mack Hagood at August 2, 2004 11:42 AM