Japanese Voyeurs - Yolk

We‘ve had quite a lot of albums appearing in various charts across the globe recently with wanna be ‘Riot Grrls', normally resulting in me heading my desk or executing the world renowned facepalm manuevre because they‘re trying too hard and missing (by a country mile), but Romily Alice is the scary, dead on, genuine article. She oozes cool effortlessly, and can switch the vocal lines in the blink of an eye from sweet and innocent to rampaging savage. Infact, she‘s downright bloody dangerous.

One thing that can‘t be said about the vocals is that they leave listeners apathetic, it‘s just not possible, the unhinged delivery by Romily will either have you grinning from ear to ear, or have you wanting to drive an M1 Abrams tank over your speakers. They‘ve been likened to Alice In Chains, Nirvana, Queens of the Stone Age, Transvision Vamp, maybe even a little Skunk Anasie. They‘ve been labelled as post grunge, punk, Stoner Rock and ‘not quite metal' (I didn‘t make that up, seriously), so now I have made a new category, are you ready. ‘Post traumatic nuclear assault awesome grunge core'. Hope you like it. Yolk is hard hitting, and thankfully the album hasn‘t been overproduced to ‘make it sound authentic' unlike what some large rock bands did, ultimately ending up as an album I refer to as ‘that awful racket that sounded better before Bob Rock messed it up'.

The first three tracks are quite simply immense. Opening track ‘You‘re So Cool' is a moody piece, bass bubbling along, giving you a hint for what will come, and it‘s a bombshell, the second track ‘Dumb'. Believe me when I say it‘s a no holds barred kicker of a track, unbelievably warped, with lyrics not at all appropriate to be reprinted here. It‘s shock and awe of a musical variety. ‘Cry Baby' follows, with a catchy chorus, less brutal lyrics (maybe even radio friendly?), and dare I say it, there are a couple of moments I think of similarities with Debbie Harry.

But Japanese Voyeurs isn‘t just about Romily Alice. Johnny Seymour (bass), Tom Lamb (guitar), Rikki Waldron (keys) and Steve Wilson (drums) combine perfectly, mirroring the vocals, switching from slow intermittent atmospheric noises, to all out heavy riff in an instant. Every so often you‘ll hear a drum fill, guitar solo, or bass line that showcases just for a second their individual talents, but it‘s not done just to show off, it‘s done because that‘s what the song demands. Normally when I see ‘keys' listed in a band that isn‘t ‘Yes' or ‘Dream Theater' I get a bit apprehensive, but Rikki Waldron‘s work is sublime, mixing perfectly with the overall sound and avoiding the temptation to be all ‘Rick Wakeman'.

A parental advisory notice (and let‘s be honest, this album probably deserves that little sticker on it), in this case has two edges, the first is to stop some very, erm, challenging lyrics reaching the ears of impressionable young people, the second, is probably the fact you wouldn‘t dare play this loud when your parents are around. I should hate everything about Japanese Voyeurs' sound, but I love it. It‘s wonderfully dark, sinister and twisted. It‘s a fantastic debut for Japanese Voyeurs.

If you want to find out more about the Japanese Voyeurs you can visit their website here: http://www.japanesevoyeurs.com/