Psydoll - A War In The Box (Independent)
Review by Meghann
Psydoll
are a curiosity to say the least. The debut effort by this Tokyo-based
act provides a hell of a lot of depth as far as instrumentals are concerned,
laced with some very prevalent Japanese vocals. Although the heavy sci-fi
anime image the band conveys in their performance stills and design
concepts indicates a lot of electronic influences, Psydoll’s idea of
futurism expands far beyond those tired notions, bringing us something
more layered and cleansing, like something you might hear in a Japanese
rendition of the film Dune.
I say this because Psydoll’s music seems to draw from a plethora of cultural and ethnic influences. In the span of the first few tracks you can detect everything from synth, to old school rock riffs, to flutes, to digital drums, sax, set to sometimes uncomfortable, but nonetheless intriguing females vocals provided by Nekoi. Despite this strange breeding of influences, the CD cuts as smooth as butter between the light and dark elements, making for a very satisfying art-pop album. I pray that the language barrier offered through the lyrics does not intimidate North American audiences from previewing Psydoll’s material, as anyone would find it hard to dispute this bands innovative styling.
Rating: 6/7