One thing of note before I start this review:
“This album is inspired by the tenets of the Satanic Temple, with strong themes around Satan, Anarchy, Vintage Video Games and Anime.” – Bad Sneakers.
Now that we have gotten that out of the way, this album is an interesting one.
Depleted and funky, miserable with gloom angst, Tanooki Suit is try hard punky without a hint of a Paul Simon’s wit. Take a listen to the album opener and let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
“Tanooki Suit” will be released April 7 on streaming platforms, and if you are looking to have a seance in the middle of a blacked out Shell gas station, boy oh boy, is this the music for you. It is creepy without grit, spooky without fear, and shocking in the same way Linus from Peanuts gave praise to The Great Pumpkin.
Here is some back story to the anticipated release:
In the dimension known as Etherea, a powerful entity known as the Directorate had taken control of every aspect of society. They controlled the government, the media, and the minds of the people, using their twisted interpretation of religion to maintain their power. But a group of brave freedom fighters, known as the Bad Sneakers, refused to accept this oppressive regime and fought tirelessly to restore freedom and justice to their dimension.
If you like Mr. Bungle you’ll probably like this, and oddly enough, the tired vocals are reminiscent of Trey Anastasio’s solo work. It isn’t bad, it is evil, yet with purpose and poise, peaking through the potential of what Bad Sneakers might become some day. This is artist is filled to the brim with edgy edge, so much so in fact that the Apple drum loops on “Fuck Around” are a highlight. Mostly because it sounds good, which is out of place on a project like this one.
The song is my favorite on this nine track piece, with simple wanna-be-Henry Rollins Black Flag chorus meets addicting riff behavior. However, the memorable aspects of this song escape the rest of the album. It becomes a sea of piano rolls and uncaring shriek singing, though the mix of background vocals on “Super Saiyan” is interesting. Thank Christ the over 9000 sample is used effectively.
With Bad Sneakers, the group toes the line between personal honesty and low-bite irony, mocking all believers and non alike, and as much as they think their storytelling is satanic gospel, it sounds like a reformed heroin addict attempting to conjure up the sonic totality of Coheed and Cambria‘s greatest hits.
Hopefully, there sound will sharpen up as strong as their red master’s horns on future releases. I doubt it though…
