I’ve mentioned Pistol Valve on this blog before - I saw them perform when they played on the SXSW Japan Nite tour in March. For those who don’t know, the group is a relatively new 10-member, all-girl horn rock band with some hip-hop influence. They play mostly brass instruments, and then there’s a violin and a DJ. Definitely not your typical fare.
I have to admit that when I saw them, I wasn’t particularly impressed (especially not after just watching Asakusa Jinta, The 50 Kaitenz, ORESKABAND, and GO!GO!7188), but I felt the concept was cool and they had a really unique sound. I ended up buying their CD so I could listen to it later. As I suspected, they sounded a lot better than what I heard - it really seemed like the sound setup at Japan Nite wasn’t quite right for them.
The group has gained quite a following in Japan, initially through street lives around Tokyo. After an initial TV appearance, they began gaining more attention in the mainstream market and have built a name for themselves. They released their first major label single, “TREASURES ~Sekai ga Owattemo~,” on April 25, and it debuted in 28th place on the Oricon charts.
After they toured with Japan Nite, they also caught the attention of a U.S. label, and now they’re about to release an 8-song album here! It’s titled Tsunamic Girls from Tokyo, and goes on sale already next Tuesday (July 24).
Here’s the tracklist:
- Western Girls
- Pull The TRIGGER!
- Flap Up Elephant
- Fo-Fo
- Tube Tune
- My Generation
- Sit At Cow Char Nail
- The Best House
Tracks 3, 4, 5, 7, and 8 are all on the mini-album I picked up (though I think it’s a slightly different mix of “The Best House”). I definitely like their poppier stuff better, like “Fo-Fo” and “The Best House,” but I dig their other tunes as well. There are very few artists out there with similar music, which means they get points for novelty, and they’re worth checking out just to see what it’s like. I imagine they’ll mainly be hit-or-miss with most listeners, though. I like them enough that I’m hoping to pick up a copy of their U.S. album (if it’s not too expensive, since I’m really only buying 3 new songs).
You can sample some of the tracks at their official MySpace, and if you’re interested in seeing another video, someone posted “TREASURES” on YouTube.