Some artists never change – and you never want them to. You still want Weird Al to write weird parody songs. You still want the boys of Jackass to find new ways to hurt themselves. And you still want Shonen Knife to sing cheery ditties about their favorite things, like on the Japanese group’s umpteenth release, Our Best Place.
A bit like their last album, the candy-focused Sweet Candy Power (QRO review), Place has a lot of songs about singer/guitarist Naoko Yamano’s favorite foods, from the swaying “Story of Baumkuchen” to the sweet “Afternoon Tea”. The best has to be “Spicy Veggie Curry”, a truly heart-felt celebration of the easy recipe so, “Please take a seat! / It has no meat!” Other songs are simply shinning, from “Nice Day” to closer “Just a Smile”.
If you’re down in the dumps in these down in the dumps times, you want some old favorites who still deliver the upbeat you’re looking for. You want to laugh to Weird. You want to wince to Jackass. You want to bop to Shonen Knife.
