Miminokoto - Hitoyogiri [Important Records - 2011]Miminokoto feature members of notable japanese psychedelic rock bands Che-SHIZU, Maher Sharal Hash Baz and Acid Mothers Temple, and with various line-up changes, they try to expand our consciousness with fuzz pedals since the year 2000.Such set-up/line-up makes it easy to guess what we're getting into. Released by Important Records in U.S.A., first pressing of this CD was retired from commerce because, by Miminokoto's own words: “it was the wrong album”.
I wonder what was on the retired pressing!
Anyway, what we get is unfortunately below standard, typical japanese psychedelic rock freak-out in the tradition of PSF Records-related bands like High Rise, Marble Sheep, Kousokuya or LSD March.
Being a bit more restrained, less distorted and less over the top than other japanese bands (I'm thinking about the extreme distortion, punch and speed of High Rise guitars, or the suffocating fog of impending doom in LSD March songs for example) , I feel it can't be much interesting to untrained ears.
All classic elements of the japanese style are here, distilled down from Les Rallizes Dénudés' big psychedelic boobs : repetitive and liquid riffing, bad trip gloomy atmosphere, stoned and slightly out of tune vocals, fuzz obsession, sounds that just feel wrong, etc. You can really feel it's japanese people playing, which is a good and distinctive thing.
It's a kind of band that is obviously not interested in ever changing their sound, instead totally devoting themselves to what they feel is the True Sound Of Love (cit.) and reveling with pleasure in every drunken note they play.
I fear “Hitoyogiri” will not attract any new fans to the vast world of japanese psychedelic rock underground, nonetheless it will be another good listen for the many western music otakus (I know you're hiding on last.fm!) and japanese fanatics alike.    Nicola Vinciguerra
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