The title of this latest offering is more then apt for a band like Shonen Knife.

Loved by 90s grunge stars such as Kurt Cobain and Kim Gordon, the hugely influential all-female trio from Osaka bulldozed the way for Japanese rock bands eager to break through to international audiences, and continue to defy the normal sell-by date of pop-punk acts with their very credible brand of versatile, 70’s inspired rock. Following 2007’s Fun! Fun! Fun!, Super Group’s aim is “to go back to the starting point of rock”.

New bassist Ritsuko joins original members Naoko (vocals, guitar) and Etsuko (vocals, drums) for an album radiating with pop, punk rock and metal. From the upbeat, poppy ‘BBQ party’ to the Paul McCartney and Wings cover ‘Jet’ and the gloriously metal-inspired ‘Pyramid Power’, Super Group continues to polish Shonen Knife’s reputation.

This, as their broken-English press release states “is an album that makes everybody happy”.

Charlotte Richardson Andrews