Japanther: Skuffed Up My Huffy : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Japanther are two punk-rock dudes from Brooklyn, banging on drums, abusing guitars, singing through pay-phone receivers, cutting up distorted tape loops and dumb samples — they make it all seem so easy. Their sound is a scruffy mess, turning their three-chord surf-guitar riffs and organ squalls into surprisingly catchy rock slop. Japanther took a huge leap on 2005's Wolfenswan, with the Beach Boys goof "I-10" and the Rolling Stones piano loop "Full Cup." But they make even merrier noise here, souping up their beatbox to sound like Tommy Ramone. "Mornings" and "Summer of '79" are fast, mean, oddly poignant odes to driving around. "River Phoenix" is a sincere elegy for a dead movie star ("Joaquin, What happened/I thought he was vegan"), while "$100 Cover" samples riot-grrrl chants into a cry for the revolution. If Buddy Holly were young, wired, pissed at his landlord and unable to play guitar, he might sound like "Challenge." At thirteen songs, it's all over in twenty-six minutes — but what a glorious ride.