Review: So-Cho Pistons – “Knuckleheads”

Monster Zero Records, 1 September, 2020

So-Cho Pistons sound like they’re about to come undone.  It’s great.

Japan’s So-Cho Pistons make a pretty raw and tight sound, channeling the Ramones and souping things up to an ultrafast pace.  And while they sing in a language that I’m completely ignorant of, the hooks and melodies and riffs kick all over the place and Knuckleheads is a good time.

So-Cho Pistons fastest stuff is rambunctious in all the right ways with tight playing and copious amounts of hi-hat and crash cymbals.  “Don’t Be A Liar” has a stupidly great melodic guitar riff and an earworm vocal melody.  “Ka-Ta-Na” and “One Nite” have all that going for them, too, plus they each throw in the sort of hesitation drop-out thing I love when done right (20 seconds in on “Ka-Ta-Na” and right before the chorus on “One Nite”).  Elsewhere, “Tou Senbo” hangs a unique vocal melody overtop some fast banging and “Ame No Naka” gets all riled up in a blur of cymbals while the guitar riff sucks you in and the bass positively destroys everything.  This one really takes off on the exhilarating chorus.  But maybe my favorite supercharged song on Knuckleheads comes near the end with the “Beat On The Brat”-on-speed rip “Piston The Bop”.  “Bop”’s got a pulverizing bass and drums, frantic guitars and a great bass hook during the instrumental bridge.  The vocals sound fantastic on this one, too.  It’s a bunch of caffeinated punk rock for the win.

And while they’ve got the blistering punk thing down, that doesn’t mean that they’ve forgotten the pop.  Songs like “No Way” (reminds me a bunch of Teenage Bottlerocket’s “Stupid Games”), “One Rocket”, and “To Dancing” keep up the manic-quick speed while having decidedly pop moments and hooks and indelible melodies that I’d quickly be singing along to if I knew the words.  But So-Cho Pistons prove that they can also slow things down a bit (keep in mind, this is relative).  “I Love Fifi” is pretty mid-tempo with some chugga guitars and a catchy chorus that I think might be a singalong (I hear the word “Fifi” in there somewhere).  “No” has a great bass sound and some rad guitar riffs to match up with maybe my favorite backing vocals on Knuckleheads.  And “Sora Takaku – Sky High” has some fun crooning vocals that almost channel a little Misfits while the guitars kind of remind me of “I Wanna Be Sedated”.  Again, more cool stuff.

By the time the record ends, Knuckleheads has left a mark.  Sure, I have no idea what they’re going on about, but the music positively slays and the vocal hooks are endearing enough to drag everybody in.

Favorite song: “Piston The Bop”

Favorite moment: stop on a dime pause 20 seconds into “Ka-Ta-Na”

Favorite whatever else: cartoon drawing that harkens back to Ramones We’re Outta Here! record cover is pretty awesome