reviews of WOODY ALLEN LIKES GUITAR POP
Comments on Miniskirt
The music is short, simple and sweet, the aural equivalent of pastries
(Ken McCallum)
…this is brilliant Northern-European styled guitar pop, with a sound similar
to Brideshead, the Pastels and Hideki Kaji…
(indiepages)
…a pop manifesto in itself, another something to warm my heart and make me smile… (Dimitra Daisy, Friends of the Heroes)
…pure guitars, openhearted bittersweet lyrics and simple arrangements find
a direct way into your heart!!!!…
(Oliver Goetzl, Marsh-Marigold Records)
It is pure pop genius, reflecting heavy influences of Felt, East Village,
and the Pastels.
(Jim Curran)
Miniskirt are what indiepop is all about!
(Salvatore, indiepop.it)
Pure, fun and jangly indiepop that should please fans of Nixon, Brideshead
and The Pastels.
(Fraction Discs)
It's kind a Tokyo's answer to The Pastels. The songs are catchy with guitars
jangling through the whole album.
This is one of the most played albums on my iPod. (Bonanza)
For a long time, it seemed as if Miniskirt would be another one of those
bands
that releases one great record and then disappears. (Greg Adams, Music
Weird)
This debut release of Tokyo's answer to the Pastels is pure twee indie
pop. Singer Edgar Franz from Duisburg,
Germany has formed this band during his studying in Japan, now he lives
there and writes thousands of songs
which also remind us of Dan Treacy's songwriting. This crazy German and 6 crazy Japanese created a real cool
indie pop band.
indiepages.com(USA) Webpage: http://www.indiepages.com/reviews/index.html
Hailing
from Japan (but with roots in Germany), this is the debut album for Miniskirt,
and the first new release I've seen in quite a while from Marsh Marigold (an
old-school indiepop favorite!). Like many other releases on the label, this is
brilliant Northern-European styled guitar pop, with a sound similar to
Brideshead, the Pastels and Hideki Kaji (though Edgar's vocals actually remind
me more of Milky Wimpshake). But the band also has that almost uniquely Japanese
quality of endearing amateurism (though I guess it can be traced back to the
Pastels) - only Miniskirt never go overboard with it, and can certainly play
their instruments and sing well (unlike a few too many other Japanese indiepop
bands I know). In keeping with the international theme of the band (with members
from Germany, Japan and Scotland), the songs are mostly sung in English (except
"Sonnige Tage"), with a handful of Japanese phrases thrown in. This is a fun cd,
and definitely worth a listen for any fan of pure and simple indiepop.
Friends Of The Heroes(UK) Webpage: http://www.friendsoftheheroes.co.uk/ |
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Miniskirt Woody Allen likes guitar pop |
Do you remember the
Catalysts? Because that is what I remember the first time I played
Miniskirt. Or rather not the Catalysts themselves but those demos of theirs that
Felicite released this time last year -
and the conversation I had about them with my friend Nick when he played them to
me.
"Hey! That one's good!" So that's what I thought about during the two and a half minutes of 'Be here with me', the first song on 'Woody Allen likes guitar pop'. It didn't last much longer though because 'Sonnige tage' came along to make me bounce and wonder. "How can a band sing in German and yet make a song I like so much?" I wondered while bouncing. And, "how can a Japanese band sing in German and make a song I like so much?" (I don't like Japanese pop much.) Also, "how can a Japanese band that sings in German make a song so good for dancing?" (because 'Sonnige tage' is good for dancing the way Belle & Sebastian's 'Judy is a dick slap' is, that is, very good.) Wondering while bouncing isn't very easy which explains why I wasn't so good at it. When that was over and I sat down again, panting, Miniskirt had switched back to singing in English but the German accent remained, as did the questions in my spinning head. How can a mostly Japanse band with a German singer who sounds like Stephen Pastel make songs I like so much? How can a band write songs that are about the most obvious of pop cliches (love, falling in love and falling out of love) and yet sound irresistably charming? How can a band load their songs with the simplest of lyrics and still have them sounding so lovely? How can a band write a song that begings with the line "sometimes I think you are all like Pooh the bear" and still have me saying they are adorable? I don't know how Miniskirt can do all this, but believe me, they can. And they can do a lot more too: describe the world in the year 2055 and namedrop Thelonious Monk in an effort to prove that "it is love that keeps us together, forever, forever, and it will never change"; repeat the word forever in the loveliest of ways, a way that gets straight to your heart; and combine shoegazing guitars with the most innocent, heartfelt-sounding girl/boy vocals in the whole wide world. And that's only what they can do during the 3 minutes and 44 seconds of 'Tongue information'. And 'Tongue information' is only in the middle of this record. They can also name a song about being so sad and lonely you're feeling nobody's on your side 'Woody Allen likes Japanese noise rock' and make that sound fitting. And they can sing it in a way that lifts my heart all the way to heaven as I type these lines. They can turn glowing fish stickers on a wall into a symbol of the fact that "between us everything's still alright" while repeating "these fish glow in the dark" over and over again and still fail to sound annoying. And they can write 'Her blue contact lenses make me crazy' to steal my heart and make the world a better place, because the world has always needed a song with the words "we are having a happy time, happy life" sang so heartbreakingly so badly, it's no wonder their first real fan has been known to sing parts of it out in restaurants and subways. And then they can follow it up with a few sad, sweet popsongs about breaking up and missing you but never giving up hope that get slower as time goes by but never for a moment fail sound charming, every phrase uttered, repeated, sang in near or not-so-near harmony by Edgar and Sachiko a pop manifesto in itself, another something to warm my heart and make me smile. And they can leave me amazed and wondering how they can do all that. Dimitri Daisy |
Oliver (owner of Marsh-Marigold) on "MINISKIRT - Woody Allen Likes
Guitar Pop"
Brand-new release from the German old school indie pop label
Marsh-Marigold Records (15th anniversary in August 2003!!!!).
When you
think of the Marsh-Marigold sound you can hear through the years different
influences: Electronic sounds just like LES FRERES CHECKOLADE, postcard and 80's
glam pop just like KNABENKRAUT, Belle & Sebastian tunes just like ALASKA,
art rocky elements just like SODA STREAM, Brit Pop just like SPY & BLOCHIN
81, 60's garage just like GROOVY CELLAR,classical guitar pop style just like
BRIDESHEAD, SHELBY and ACID HOUSE KINGS, the "German Smiths" just like BUSCH or
86 noise pop just like KRISTALLIN. BUT when you want to describe the "original
sound" of Marsh-Marigold you first have to think of DIE 5 FREUNDE, RED LETTER
DAY, THE LEGENDARY BANG and JESTERBELLS, which founded the label in 1988 and
that's the reason why MINISKIRT was signed on Marsh-Marigold:
MINISKIRT
A R E MARSH-MARIGOLD!!!!
They really sound like the start of the whole German indie pop affair.
Pure guitars, openhearted bittersweet lyrics and simple arrangements find
a direct way into your heart!!!! MINISKIRT for me are a re-incarnation
of the good old-fashioned pop world: You will hear the PASTELS at their
best times and SARAH RECORDS as well as Boy meets Girl themes just like
in RED SLEEPING BEAUTY. MINISKIRT were founded by Edgar Franz (vocals/guitar),
a German PhD student living in Japan and Tatsumune Fujihira (guitars).
They were joined by Kenmi Kamiyama (drums, guitar), Sachiko (vocals, accordeon,
flute, tambourine) from Tokyo, Min Sung (bass) from Korea and Jonny (bass)
from Scotland. So, we have a cool international mixture of pop addicts!!!
So look: "Woody Allen likes guitar pop" but YOU will LOVE it!!!!!
Oliver
indiepopit (Italian online magazine)
Ero come al solito alla (affannosa, difficile, senza speranza) ricerca
delle ultime novita indiepop tra file sharing, negozi in Canada, quelli
di Rough Trade che non ti mandano nemmeno una conferma d'ordine e i soldi
che non bastano. Insomma, era uno di quei non rari momenti in cui pensavo
che nessuno dovrebbe avere la pessima idea di scrivere su una rivista indiepop-only
in un paese notoriamente ricettivo come il nostro. Ma prima che potessi
proporre arditi paragoni tra l'indiepop e l'immigrazione clandestina la
fortuna si e manifestata sotto forma di Dimitra e il circolo vizioso si e
interrotto. |
Think Small (Dutch indiepop online magazine)
http://www.thinksmall.nl/#
Ik heb weleens mensen gesproken die weer andere mensen
hebben gesproken die mensen kennen die ooit in Japan zijn geweest. En zo weet
ik dat Japanners eigenlijk overal van houden, als het maar nagemaakt is van
iets uit het westen. En hoeveel westerser kan je muziek nu klinken dan C86-indie/tweepop,
helemaal als de zanger van je bandje een heuse Duitser is. En omdat dit soort
pop nogal zang georienteerd is, is het slechts aan de spaarzame tweede stem te
danken dat je ubehaupt gelooft dat er in Miniskirt mensen met namen als
Tatsumune, Sachiko en Kenmi spelen. Je zou de band toch vooral in Hamburg
plaatsen, of anders in Munchen, want vanwege het toch vrij duidelijke Duitse
accent, doet het meer dan eens denken aan wijlen Duitse indiepop-‘grootheden’
als The Bartlebees of 50.000.000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong. Of
als je die zang wegdenkt: nog grotere Britse grootheden (in datzelfde kleine
wereldje natuurlijk) als The Pastels, The Vaselines en The
Razorcuts. C86 dus (of Anorak style pop, of jangly indiepop
of welke namen er intussen voor het genre zijn verzonnen), een genre dat dan
dit jaar volwassen wordt, maar dat daarmee niet opeens minder aanstekelijk
naief of charmant jeugdig klinkt. In elk geval niet bij Miniskirt, dat met Woody
Allen Likes Guitar Pop een album heeft afgeleverd dat even fris klinkt als
dat het de originele voorbeelden benadert.
NB Dat zul je natuurlijk net zien, is die recensie helemaal af, ga je
pas lezen waar de mensen van Miniskirt nu echt vandaan komen. Slechts drie van
de zes bandleden komen uit Japan, de overige drie uit Duitsland, Schotland en
Zuid-Korea.
Martijn Grooten
2 februari 2004
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9 | |
STYLE | Indie-Pop |
LABEL | White Wabbit Records |
YEAR |
2005 |
?到Miniskirt,有些小白兔的好朋友已經知道很久了,對他們不算陌生。因為Miniskirt參加過小白兔的合輯“蘿蔔一代”,收?了一首?皮討喜的“All
Summer Long”,這首歌的注目度很高,有人?像Belle &
Sebastian。 |
Applejack (French fanzine)
“Woody Allen Likes
Guitar Pop”
Marsh-Marigold
Records.
Genre: Japanese twee whispers (2003)
Certains
soirs j’imaginais que ca aurait pu arriver au bout de ma rue. Mais c’etait
arrive au bout du monde, cette histoire. L’histoire du groupe de pop. Ils
s’appellent Miniskirt, ils sont japonais, mais pas le chanteur (Edgar Franz),
qui est allemand. Ce groupe de pop - comme tous les groupes de pop de tous les
pays (unissez-vous !) - ne reve que d’Angleterre. Et ecoute encore religieusement
la petite cassette kraft 86 du NME (celle qui commence par Velocity Girl
de Primal Scream). Ils sont nes trop tard pour figurer sur la cassette et trop
tard pour le NME, aussi. Mais il ne faut pas leur dire. ≪Woody Allen Likes Pop
Guitar ≫, leur seul disque a ce jour, est sorti il y a trois ans. J’ai delaisse
ma compile breviaire du ROCK NEO ZELANDAIS pour ecouter Miniskirt, alors que
j’aimais assez The Jean Paul Sartre Experience (a vrai dire, j’aimais surtout
le nom, parce qu’il impressionnait ma mere). Bon. Et l’histoire du groupe de
pop alors ? C’est une histoire de musique legere de light de lumiere. Vous
l’aimerez si vous aimez la voix d’Edgar Franz. Une voix barbouillee a la
Stephen Pastel, une voix decomposee presque, quand il hoquette oh oh oh oh oh I
love her so oh oh sur Your blue contact lenses make me crazy. La musique
de Miniskirt aussi a quelque chose des Pastels, dans les decolorations, les
decelerations soniques. Comme un air de famille, mais y a plus de famille
(unissez-vous quand meme). Edgar chante en anglais et dans sa langue natale,
une seule fois : Sonnige Tage. Une petite
flute enjouee lance le morceau, s’efface, reparait. Ce disque est rempli de
fantaisies diabolo menthe de boys & girls idiots (et tres heureux), d’histoires pareilles a celles que racontaient
les Fourmost en 1963: When I see you everyday I say hello little girl /When
you’re passing on your way I say hello little / If I see you passing by I cry
hello little girl / When I try to catch your eyes I cry hello little girl. Les Miniskirt sont twee pop & le clament haut et
fort. HAUT ET FORT ! Il y a des poissons phosphorescents autocolles du sol
au plafond, qui sans doute apprecient. Ca se passe a Tokyo au bout du
monde. Je te l’ai deja dit. Sur la pochette du disque, Woody Allen twiste avec
une fille en minijupe. Ca n’aurait pas pu arriver au bout de ma rue, finalement.
C’est trop pop trop libere trop gratuit trop naif. L’album est transcende par la voix d’Edgar, par son
enthousiasme, l’enthousiasme du groupe. Les vignettes se succedent, les six
Miniskirt deroulent leur storytelling sautillant. Deux guitares
electriques scintillent dans le noir, jingle jangle joli. Edgar & Sachiko
(un filet de voix) chantent aussi en duo sur quelques titres (Tongue
Information, These fish glow in the dark, I don’t give us hope). Soudain ca
m’a semble drole, ce garcon allemand et cette fille japonaise qui s’aiment en
anglais : it’s just love that keeps us together forever forever and it
will never change. La meme phrase repetee inlassablement. Seule la derniere
chanson, Miss you, se tient un peu en marge des autres titres - Edgar
chante differemment, reprend peut-etre sa voix de tous les jours, des autres
jours ? et pour la premiere fois il y a de la reverb’ sur cette voix. Plus de
tambourin plus de flute : c’est un adieu sobre. Et sous influence
Miniskirt, je commande un autre diabolo le disque est fini je n’ai plus 13 ans
et j’aimerais bien des fois. Quelque part entre le bout du monde et le bout de
ma rue, il y a Miniskirt (c’est un endroit imaginaire).
E.A.R