You Can Be My Wave

After a nearly eleven year studio album absence, the legendary, one-of-a-kind, and innovative Japanese hardcore band Melt-Banana have returned. With just nine tracks and a runtime of twenty-four minutes, 3 + 5 is the band's shortest release to date, however, it may also be their tightest and most straightforward. Sonically, not too much has changed since Fetch. Ichiro Agata's guitar wizardry continues to amaze: rapid hammer-on riffs cycle and swirl around your head, the use of pitch shifting effects either cause passages to rev up excitingly or melt into a sludge, and disorienting, glitchy stutters sow chaos and confusion. Yasuko Onuki's (Yako) characteristic, high-pitched yelp is as searing and attention-commanding as ever. The band continues to operate without a bassist or drummer, opting for programmed instruments (I am certain about the drums, less sure about the bass) to create an impossibly tight backing rhythm to support the frenetic mayhem the duo builds on top.

The album kicks off with Code, a fantastic reintroduction to the world of Melt-Banana. Yako's voice is doubled in this very robotic manner as Agata's lightning quick riffs loop around. The song builds to a massive crescendo, a very loud and bright chorus that is joyfully overwhelming. On Case D, Melt-Banana return to their grindy, hardcore punk proclivities. The tempo is off the charts, we get a decipherable chord progression, and Yako is going off. This song has a lengthy bridge where we get blasts of kick drum, shots of guitar noise, lasers and Agata's take on dial-up sounds. Melt-Banana really makes hardcore punk sound like a symphony on this track. I immediately fell in love with Scar, perhaps their most triumphant and celebratory presentation yet. Layers upon layers of guitar stack up to create one of the most beautiful harmonies I think I've ever heard on a Melt-Banana track. Yako, who typically delivers this unwavering yelp, incorporates a little melody and emotion into her performance. I found it quite refreshing to hear especially when the double tracking and effects dropped away for just a moment.

In the back half, we get two more standouts. Hex has a very driving bassline, and the chorus has some pretty exciting start-stop dynamics in the chorus. Towards the end, there's a really cool looped guitar riff that ascends one half-step at a time until it becomes no longer sustainable, resulting in the song collapsing. After a moment's pause, the song drops back in with yet another stellar, acrobatic guitar riff. Melt-Banana's music already doesn't appear to be from this planet, but that is even more so the case on the album's closer Seeds. The first half of the track delivers a harmonious soundscape; this time built from Agata's guitar and some twinkling, starlight synths. The duo adds these speedy blast beats creating a sound that is throttling, yet beautiful. The song eventually builds to a very satisfying climax as guitars and synths pulse, machine gun drums fire away, and Yako's shouts build in intensity. It's total ear candy.

There was only one track that I didn't love, and that was Whisperer. It is mostly due to the verses. It doesn't have much of a drum beat to it, the contrast on the guitars appear to be muted, and Yako's vocals are somewhat buried. The rest of the song's sections are fine, but the verses tend to kill the track's momentum. Aside from this one track though, 3 + 5 only consists of bangers. Melt-Banana is one of those truly odd cases where despite being more than thirty years into their career as well as taking longer breaks between releases, they continue to refine their process and release stronger albums. I'm hoping that 3 + 5 marks the beginning of a new creative chapter for the band as I would certainly love to hear more of this in the near future.