Clear And Refreshing arrives just in time to hear the last two or three notes of Ookamuro but they sounded like they had riffs and things like that which is probably a good thing. All thoughts of them, however, are banished by the arrival of Pony Tail. Superficially they're just another emo band who probably listen to a lot of Number Girl and Eastern Youth but the difference is that this lot are really good. They take the tortured vocals of these bands but wed it to the propulsive drumming and chiming fretwork of 80's indie types like The Mighty Lemon Drops and early REM. Each song contains more stop-starts, interwoven lead guitars and quiet-loud moments than you would have thought possible and the long instrumental sections of some of their songs recall intriguing hints of 60's surf music. Dare we say it; the Japanese Strokes?

Shuffling onstage to she sound of The Sex Pistols singing a disgusting sea shanty are Kitchen Gorilla, who I'm going to patronise firstly by giving an A for effort and secondly by describing as a well rehearsed but unmemorable punk band who've listened to the right old-skool records but absorbed none of their substance. Nevertheless, the singer comes on like a miniaturised female Andrew WK as redesigned by Sanrio, punching the air in time with the drum fills and just rocking out with such exuberance and good humour that it's impossible not to enjoy. We recommend a serious look at their wardrobe before the next gig though.

Mosquito are like nothing you've ever heard. They're like a Thomas Pynchon novel transposed into music and made listenable. They're all the best moments of fucked up freaky 70's weirdness like Faust, Gong and Eno, of razor-sharp post-punk like Mission Of Burma, Gang Of Four and Talking Heads, of ecstasy-fuelled dance-rock, of 60's freakbeat, of every joyous experience you've ever had in an underground cavern with wild, loud, beautiful, idiot-simple, genius-complex, art-school, music-hall, rock and roll NOISE pouring out of the speaker stacks and into your yielding, conquered ears. No-one in the audience has a clue what they've just heard but they all know that it was something special and by the time they finish there isn't a heart out there that isn't pounding with a fierce, blissful energy.

And it is into this scene of carnage that The Students must now make their mark. If Mosquito's show was characterised by an overriding, idyllic aura of confidence, The Students are out to confound that at every turn. And how they turn! And twist! And shake! They pound the audience into baffled silence with opener "Kurage No Dance" and zigzag through two more equally brilliant, angular pop masterpieces, then, just as the audience is starting to accept this uncompromising mixture of pop hooks, incomprehensible lyrics and powerful, aggressive, yet icy delivery, they just stop and start to speak. Is this the same band talking now that were just playing? No-one is sure, perhaps we need to think again. Bass player Atsushi's dancing knocks everyone sideways and then they're off again with the fearsome "Marin Marin". By this time smiles are starting to spread across the audience, toes are beginning to tap, people are starting to get it. They build to a climax and finally we think we have their number, then Bang! "Tokage No Kaze Ga Huita" is an unadulterated slice of pure 50's dream-lover girl-pop, as charming as it is unexpected. It's nights like tonight that are the reason music exists. -Ian Martin, Mar.19.04

Pony Tail - http://sound.jp/ponytail/
Mosquito - http://www.geocities.co.jp/MusicStar-Live/1218/
The Students - Tragically they have no homepage so keep your eyes on Clear And Refreshing for future gigs.