Overdrive (Shonen Knife album)
Overdrive | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Producer | Naoko Yamano & Atushi Shibata | |||
Shonen Knife chronology | ||||
|
Overdrive is the 19th studio album by Japanese
The CD album artwork was created by Masahiko Ohno; three different color variations were released, with each corresponding to either Japan, North America, or Europe.[1] The album received moderately positive reviews from critics, with many applauding the band's dabbling in more harder rock, whereas others were critical of its musical and lyrical simplicity.
Production
While Shonen Knife's usual sound is
In an interview with 100PercentRock.com, Yamano explained that her process for writing and recording has not changed substantially since the band's early days: "I’m lazy and I don’t start writing songs until we book recording studio [
Other lyrical themes include on the album include tennis in "Jet Shot", and cats in "Like a Cat". Regarding the former, Yamano expressed in an interview that she had always wanted to sing about tennis, but felt that the topic did not fit well with the style of the band's music. She revisited this opinion after watching a tennis match on television in which the announcer referred to a move made by Kei Nishikori as a "great jet shot".[4] Yamano was struck by the phrase, and used it as inspiration for a song about wanting to be a more aggressive tennis player. "Like a Cat" joins the long canon of Shonen Knife songs about cats. Yamano explained, "I just like cats. Dogs are sometimes too earnest, but cats are so free."[4] The band released a music video for the song, featuring cat videos submitted by their fans the world over.[4] For the non-Japan releases of the album, all songs were recorded with English lyrics. However, for the domestic release of the album, "Dance to the Rock", "Shopping", and "Like a Cat" were recorded with Japanese lyrics.[1]
Critical reception
Aggregate scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | (67/100)[5] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [5] |
Drowned in Sound | 6/10[6] |
NME | 7/10[7] |
PopMatters | [8] |
The Skinny | [9] |
Overdrive received moderately positive reviews from critics; Metacritic, a review aggregator website, gave the album an average score of 67 out of 100 from 17 reviews, which indicates "generally favourable reviews".[5] NME awarded the album 7 out of 10 stars, with reviewer Stuart Huggett arguing that the album contained "personal and political lyrics far smarter than Shonen Knife’s cartoon image suggests."[7] Will Fitzpatrick of The Skinny awarded the album four out of five stars, writing that "Overdrive's sugary take on 70s dinosaur rock" is replete with a "never-ending supply of bubblegum hooks".[9]
Zachary Houle of PopMatters awarded the album six out of ten stars, and mused that Shonen Knife's fusing of punk and classic rock on the album "somehow work[s]".[8] Houle, however, was critical of the band's penchant for bordering closely on copying other artists' music; he argued that "Bad Luck Song" and "Black Crow" are strikingly similar to Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town" and Kiss's "Black Diamond", respectively, but felt that "the album gets better as it goes along".[8]
Mark Deming of AllMusic awarded the album three out of five stars, commenting on the band's musical shift; he wrote, "By Shonen Knife's standards, Overdrive does sound like some sort of hard rock album, and the attempts to make like Kiss, Thin Lizzy, or Deep Purple come off better than one might expect, though Yamano's guitar skills are less impressive than those of the average metal axe slinger."[10] Deming complimented the charm of the album, but criticized Yamano's lyrics as "run-of-the-mill", ill-fitting the change in musical direction.[10] The site selected "Black Crow", "Ramen Rock", and "Green Tea" as album highlights.[10] Joe Goggins of Drowned in Sound awarded the album 6 out of 10 stars, and complimented the band for successfully managing to release nineteen studio albums. However, he was slightly critical of the "derivative" nature of the band's sound, as well as their "one-dimensional guitar playing and unrelentingly trivial lyrics".[6]
Promotion
To promote Overdrive, Shonen Knife embarked on a North American tour in the fall of 2014. The band's first show was on September 11, 2014, in
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Bad Luck Song" | Naoko Yamano | 4:12 |
2. | "Black Crow" | Yamano | 4:43 |
3. | "Dance to the Rock" | Yamano | 3:55 |
4. | "Ramen Rock" | Yamano | 4:25 |
5. | "Shopping" | Yamano | 3:29 |
6. | "Fortune Cookie" | Yamano | 3:10 |
7. | "Like a Cat" | Yamano | 3:32 |
8. | "Green Tea" | Yamano | 2:59 |
9. | "Robots from Hell" | Yamano | 4:52 |
10. | "Jet Shot" | Yamano | 3:50 |
Total length: | 39:18 |
Personnel
- Naoko Yamano - guitar, vocals
- Ritsuko Taneda - bass, backing vocals
- Emi Morimoto - drums, backing vocals
References
- ^ a b "A Note from the Mighty Shonen Knife Re: Overdrive". Good Charamel Records. Blogger. February 4, 2014. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ a b Pinnegar, Shane (January 20, 2015). "Interview – Naoko Yamano". 100PercentRock.com. Archived from the original on May 3, 2016.
- ^ a b Kaplan, Lucy (2014). "Shonen Knife – A Hybrid Review and Interview Regarding Overdrive". IAmTunedUp.com. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ a b c d Robson, Daniel. "Shonen Knife Write Sick Songs About Cats, Cookies, and Cakes". Vice. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
- ^ a b c "Reviews for Overdrive by Shonen Knife". Metacritic. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ a b Goggins, Joe (April 14, 2014). "Album Review: Shonen Knife: Overdrive". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on October 24, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ a b Huggett, Stuart (April 11, 2014). "Shonen Knife – 'Overdrive'". NME. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ a b c Houle, Zachary (May 7, 2014). "Shonen Knife: Overdrive". PopMatters. Retrieved May 23, 2016.
- ^ a b Fitzpatrick, Will (April 2, 2014). "Shonen Knife – Overdrive". The Skinny. Retrieved July 17, 2023.
- ^ a b c Deming, Mark. "Overdrive – Shonen Knife". AllMusic. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
- ^ Adams, Gregory (August 14, 2014). "Shonen Knife Announce North American Tour Behind 'Overdrive'". Exclaim!. Retrieved November 15, 2021.
External links
- Shonen Knife's official website
- Shonen Knife discography at Discogs
- Damnably Records Website
- Good Charamel Records website