Lurching out of the traps a mere two-and-a-bit years after lead-off single "Radio New Wave" hit the nation's shelves, Skyfisher's first new studio album in forever is going to come as a relief to those foolish enough to have started holding their breath after the release of "Mode-I" in 2000. It should also come as a relief to anyone who's wondering why it's taking so long to kill emo. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it's another pop album. Isn't the world a wonderful place?

Singing drummer Takashi Nakayama has the most new wave voice in the universe and Yasushi Ikawa's guitar wreaks unpredictable noise havoc wherever it goes, with Kazue and Minako's backing vocals providing a poppy counterpoint to the occasionally pretty intense chaos. All this is, of course, to say that seven years down the line from the Tokyo New Wave Of New Wave 98 compilation and Skyfisher still don't sound a million miles from Polysics, with whom they shared wax on said disc. They they assert their own identity by applying a (slightly) straighter take on their cynical hardcore pop and laying off the squeaky female vocals to a greater degree. It leaves them less immediate than some of their peers but in the long run you're thanking them. Honest.

On the first listen, standout tracks have to be "3P", which potently combines Skyfisher's most aggressive and poppiest tendencies, and "Forest Best Rest", which wraps some very uncomfortable English and some mangled guitars around a Kraftwerk-like backdrop. It's awkward, catchy and eerie in fairly equal measures. Go through it again though and tracks like "R18 Child" gain stature until after a couple of days you're left with a really rather fine album. The follow-up is due some time in 2017. -Ian Martin, Apr.04.05.

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