The Clicks-Come to Vivid Girl's Room! & Magic of White

On the surface, the Clicks could be easily slotted between Shonen Knife and Supersnazz. The Yokohama-based trio formed in 1998. They honed their sound by playing local live houses, releasing demos and contributing to various artists collections before catching the attention of K.O.G.A. Records. They successfully combined a huge wall of fierce guitars with girl-group harmonies and those super-catchy seesawing Japanese pop melodies across two albums. 2004 was the year of their debut Come to Vivid Girl's Room!, followed by 2005’s Magic of White.

Hooks & Harmonies

The somewhat spacious production on their debut allows for their high-caliber vocals to shine amid the instrumentation. Come to Vivid Girl's Room! was produced by Tomoko of Supersnazz-so there’s a definite rock ‘n’ roll edge to their sound. Their upbeat and sunny vocalizations race along with the charging guitars-reminding me most of the mid-'90s sounds of the Queers. Overall, they build up a surging and solid sound that is consistent as it’s catchy with remarkable rushing melodies. “Contrary’s Person Diary” jumps out of the speakers with the sound, spirit and rhythmic drive of the Muffs. “With Smiling” starts fully charged like “I Met Her at the Rat” by the Queers and offers one of Yoko’s fitting and appealing mini guitar solos. With its perfectly placed “Oh Oh Oh-Oh,” “Get Back!” brings together the Ronettes and the Queers on a subway car out to the Ramones' Forest Hills. The final song “Summer Has Gone” places them in-between the Beards and the Beach Boys with its addition of keyboards, xylophone and layered harmonizing. This dreamy song would also be perfectly fitting for Mama Guitar or the Pebbles to cover.

Sweet & Straightforward
Magic of White presents a more dense and polished production that was handled by the band. They continue to barrel straight ahead with some heavy riffage (almost at a L7 level) before merging into some pop passages and roller coaster melodies. Yuko’s stellar mini guitar solos continue to flash.  “Block Castle” is one of their strongest songs that is showcased in the above video. “Joy” and “Understanding,” both written by bass player Chiharu (ちはる), are other highlights with their brisk tempos and overall exuberance that characterize the classic K.O.G.A. sound. Makoto Sakarai from NUDGE ‘EM ALL provided them the song “Sweet Bright” that has almost a British Invasion bounce to it (namely “Pretty Flamingo.”) The title track “Magic of White” features churning guitars rhythmically pushing the song forward. Their backing harmonies and vocal arrangements truly come to the forefront on “Cherry Tree on the Hill.” This ultra-melodic song sounds fitting for a J-drama before taking off in the direction of the Muffs. “Try or Give Up” brings them back around to their speedy Supernazz sound. “Photograph” is not the Weezer song, but it does sound influenced by them and Ric Ocasek circa the “Green” album.   

As a live act, they made a striking impression by wearing sophisticated dresses that are more commonly worn by jazz acts or groups like Tokyo Groove Jyoshi. After touring Japan in 2005, they officially broke up on November 5th of that year. Bass player Chiharu (ちはる) went to the band Teenline (named after Shivvers’ song and power-pop compilation/omnibus series). Guitarist Yuko and drummer Yuki started their own group called newbie. I wonder if any of the members are still involved with music? Nevertheless, they left listeners these two unsung albums of exciting Japanese-girl-group-power-pop-punk that are now turning 20 & 21 years old respectively. While only around momentarily, you can hear the trio's influence on their contemporaries like the Squeaks, the Dazes and THE PORTUGAL JAPAN as well with younger acts such as the Selectionz and Jamto Highball ジャムトハイボール.  The music they made was immediate, yet enduring as the years have proven their songs were made to last. 

Supersnazz-Diode City & Rock Juice-Drink All Night

Some 30 years ago I recall being excited to see Supersnazz’s Superstupid! CD in the new rotation bin at the college radio station where I had an early Friday morning show. It seemed like a major departure for Sub Pop at that time to release the debut album from an all-female Japanese band. Little did I know at the time that Kurt Bloch, of Fastbacks, had produced the album recorded at Conrad Uno’s Egg Studio in Seattle and the band had connections with Scott McCaughey of the Young Fresh Fellows. Quickly losing track of them in the midst of busy college life was not surprising as their follow-up Devil Youth Blues was released only in Japan by Time Bomb Records based in Osaka.

Thankfully SFTRI came to the rescue in 1999 and licensed this album for North America release. Diode City is the album where it all came together for them. On the whole, the album is packed with propulsive power-pop and off-the-rails rock ‘n’ roll. There are hooks at every turn and an overall surging energy that both transmits and reflects the perpetual motion of Tokyo.  Leading off is “Words of Love” that rips right off from the start in Blondie fashion. The poppy, choppy and catchy “Baby Love” reminds me of the Eyes (Charlotte Caffey’s pre-Go-Go’s band) with its skip-along sensibilities and racing tempos propelling the song forward.  In fact, the entire record has some of the best punk/new wave/power-pop elements and influences of late ‘70s Los Angeles all over it.

Supersnazz (Tomoko & Spike)
Phoenix, AZ-Nov. 2001

“No Excuse” bursts out with that hammering stripped-down Stooges piano riff and swarming buzz-fuzz guitars before being anointed with Saints-like horns. The title track “Diode City” and “Star Kills” arrive with prominent X marks. They nail the menacing group-chant vocals on “Diode City,” while the blistering “Star Kills'' will have you wondering if it was in any way influenced by Yukio Mishima’s novella “Star.” The delightfully straight-ahead “It’s Alright” brings back the flash and dash of Sheena & The Rokkets.

Supersnazz (Tomoko & Shoe)
Phoenix, AZ-Nov. 2001

“From Home” is a dramatic supercharged girl-group gem with a dreamy melody. However, “From Home” is not the Troggs song of the same title (that was later covered by DMZ), but a Supersnazz original written by Tomoko that sounds strongly influenced by the said Troggs and “You Tore Me Down” Flamin’ Groovies.  “I Wonder” is another successful Crystals/Ronettes cover (and they would go on to have many-including Captain & Tennille’s “Love Will Keep Us Together” that was included on an entire album of covers entitled Sweat Box). Finishing the album off on a strong note, “Mr. Gee,” jubilantly extracts the ‘50s by way of the Ramones circa Leave Home. Supersnazz reached new heights on Diode City by masterfully blending their varied influences into a distinct, vibrant and enduring sound. 

Rock Juice logo illustration by Kame

Rock Juice Kame-Guitar (Machinicalis) Tomoko-Bass (Supersnazz, Tweezers, the Bucketeers)

Mick-O-Drums (Machinicalis, Noble Surfers, Royal Fingers) Tatsuya Inagaki (aka INA)-Guitar (Treeberrys, More Fun)

Naming your group after a Flamin’ Groovies album from 1992 is just one indicator of Rock Juice’s deep devotion to the Groovies. Further, a cyclical pattern emerges as Supersnazz took their name from the Flamin’ Groovies' first album. The sound and spirit of the Groovies undeniably permeates this entire release from the design through the layering of guitars to the song sequencing. Even their band logo is obviously rendered in Flamin’ Groovies/Cyril Jordan font. Fittingly, Rock Juice opens the album with a stellar cover of Flamin’ Groovies’ “Please Please Girl.” On this Jordan-Wison composition they quicken the pace, while striking a perfect chiming tone (stirring ‘60s folk rock meets ‘70s power-pop) that is embellished with folksy interweaving vocal harmonies. On a similar note, it also recalls the Groovies successfully speeding up the tempo on their cover of the Beatles’ “Misery” found on the Shake Some Action Lp.  Not only does Rock Juice, like their forebears, record many covers that they make their own, they frequently draw from the same well as the Rolling Stones, NRBQ and Chuck Berry are all common denominators when it comes to covers on Drink All Night.  In live shows, they even cover Abba’s “Dancing Queen” as a strong melody is a strong melody! 

Photos by Teppei Miki

From Supersnazz to Rock Juice, Tomoko has consistently been a versatile and solid songwriter and she continues to deliver two knockouts, “Lucky Girl” which has resemblance to the Muffs and the brisk, but unsparing “Lights On.” (I still wish to hear her country project the Bucketeers.) Inagaki (Ina) has written a minor classic anthem with “Stop Waiting for Rock “N” Roll.” It’s on the heights of their inspirational models the Sire-era Flamin’ Groovies. Their energy, execution and melodies and production are all in alignment on this striking debut. Rock Juice also convey a highly-developed sense of dynamics through both their guitar interplay and ambitious trade-off vocals. Overall, the record is a conduit to the excitement, immediacy and surging energy still possible in rock ‘n’ roll. May they themselves continue to influence new generations of guitar driven Japanese bands like Hazy Sour Cherry and Flashlights and let’s all hope for a follow-up album. They could even do an all-covers album of  Flamin’ Groovies songs and in the process go full circle. 

Rock Juice (L to R) Kame, Tomoko, Mick-O, Inagaki (aka Ina)