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Album reviews Music

Shonen Knife

Rating: NNNN


Let’s consider a tried-and-true piece of dad-to-son advice: invest in a solid knife and it will stay with you for a lifetime. Shonen Knife’s a good example – sharp, reliable, versatile, easy to handle and won’t let you down, even after 28 years.

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The all-female Japanese trio’s 15th album retains lo-fi garage-pop appeal with songs that won’t warp your mind. On fast-tempo Slug, Naoko Yamano sings, “Slug, I feel like a slug,” and she means just that. Country-flavoured Deer Biscuits recalls a sunny-day park visit, and there are back-to-back party-themed songs.

These tunes are set to distorted guitars, heavy bass and cute harmonies, giving the album all the earnestness of a morning children’s show (in a good way, not a Doodlebops way). Notably, it’s sung entirely in English as opposed to the band’s usual habit of sprinkling in Japanese-language tunes.

Top track: BBQ Party

Shonen Knife hit the Horseshoe October 18.

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