The Polysics – Now Is The Time!

Pogo-ing To The Oldies

On The Polysics’ Now Is The Time! comparisons to early New Wave performers like Devo and Can are inevitable but the band merely uses those influences as a jumping-off point, taking their music in directions likely never conceived by those pioneers. Singing in Japanese, Engrish and their own made-up “space language,” The Polysics wear their influences on their sleeves. What marvelous influences they are: pop-punk, surf music and old-school Nintendo themes, all thrown in a blender and dumped on your head. It’s exhausting like a night out doing the pogo, which this disk will make you want to do. Listening to this disc recalls a night spent wandering around Akihabara, Tokyo’s electronic district, a non-stop assault of music and electric lights and sounds. The effect is a kind of delirious fun in much the same way this record is — sometimes ridiculous, sometimes brilliant. Standout tracks include “Jhout,” a not-so-subtle nod to Lene Lovich, and the ritalin-fueled rave-up “I Me My Mine.” “Walky Talky” and “Mr. Psycho Psycho” promise (and deliver) all the fun of listening to Devo or The Cars’ first records while playing video games. “Oh Monaliza!” has an electric hoedown flavor complete with a two-step beat and yodel that would fit in seamlessly with any Mario adventure.

The Polysics seem to absorb this aesthetic completely: even their CD cover is reminiscent of Devo’s New Traditionalists or Kraftwerk’s The Man-Machine with the band in belted red jumpsuits and radiation sunglasses. While some of the tracks misfire or get muddled down in cuteness, this bouncy retro approach is a refreshing alternative to the glut of Cure wannabes fighting for our attention of late.