Send "Japanther " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 Japanther seemed like one of those permanent seven-scoring bands for so long, one of those bands doing a rather interesting – if not mindblowing – thing, and doing it consistently well. The band’s released nearly an album a year for the past ten years, each one another fine addition to their catalogue, cementing their style as something uniquely their own.You’d be excused for not knowing what that style is; along with the group’s consistency comes a lack of any highlights, providing no easy in to the group despite their rather listenable influences. Those blue collar influences – old school hip-hop, hardcore punk – sit surprisingly well with their artier tendencies (live and on record, their use of noise; extramusically, their schooling at Pratt and involvement with the Whitney Museum), and the resulting sound more or less encapsulates Brooklyn. Why their 2007 single “Challenge” hasn’t become the borough’s de facto theme song is beyond me. I’ve read more than a bit of cynicism towards the band lately, most of it centered upon the fact that their style no longer reflects a consistently-gentrifying Brooklyn. It’s true that their style fits in better with Baltimore punk (especially the Death Set) or LA’s underground scene, but they (along with like-minded Brooklynites Team Robespierre and Ninjasonik) do Brooklyn and its history more justice than high-brow artists like Dirty Projectors do. If we critics want to sit back and let the Veckatimests of the world take over the “Brooklyn” sound, we might as well invest in the high rises on Kent Ave (and, c’mon hipsters – Brooklyn still has the second-lowest per capita GDP of all the boroughs; let’s not feel so important for having “saved” a whole borough, eh?)....full text |
| Radioflyerreview |
| Pop-punk/art-punk duo Japanther have long been a bit of an oddity in the Brooklyn music scene - you won't see them with a lot of other NYC punks or underground popsters. Instead, the bands with whom they are most closely associated are stylistically far away, united instead by attitude, and unsurprisingly, attitude more than sound defines Japanther. That attitude, for better or worse, is clear from track one of Rock'n'Roll Ice Cream. Japanther are (usually) two dudes from Pratt and their music hints at that combination of artistic inclination and obnoxious privilege so commonly associated with their alma mater. They have always had an anti-corporate bent, this time most clearly in the opening track, a catchy pop blast called "Surfin Coffin." Their lyrics on the rest of the album, as in their previous songs, range from the excitement of being young and maybe hanging out with a girl you like a lot to the frustration of being surrounded by a seemingly passionless, anticreative world....full text |
| Eujacksonville |
| After my band opened for Japanther several months ago, I have been on pins and needles, waiting for them to release some new music. Luckily it didn’t take long at all as they plan to release their newest album Rock ‘N’ Roll Ice Cream on February 23rd. Basically, Japanther is everything that pop punk used to be, and should have remained, before the genre was corrupted by MTV, Hot Topic and every other culture-crushing corporation. They have become well known in their hometown of Brooklyn and around the world for their high-energy shows and riotous dance parties. Also, for using telephones as microphones. Japanther joints are nothing if not fun. Expect songs about skating, surfing, girl problems and the usual punk rock fare all done with Japanther’s signature fuzzy, garagey, poppy innocence. You won’t be able to help yourself from humming along and singing in the shower to 'She’s the One.' Another staple of their material is the use of samples. They appear to have dialed them back a little on this album but songs like 'Not At War' are heavy with them in a way that would gives Dan the Automator or Danger Mouse a run for their money. Rock ‘N’ Roll Ice Cream has all the classic ringings of Japanther but also introduces an exciting new element. After almost ten years as a duo of drums and electric bass, they have recruited a new member in the form of Anita Sparrows of the Soviettes in what seems like a last-minute, spontaneous decision. But if this record is any indication it was an act of kismet. She even has her own track, an acoustic solo version of 'She’s the One' entitled 'Alone in the Basement.'...full text |
Japanther lyrics
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