First off, I’m not some kind of Asian music connoisseur.  I’m a casual listener at best.

Having lived in the country for three years, I found that I pretty much hated everything about the Japanese pop and rock music scene and went out of my way to see western artists in concert as much as possible.  When I left that country I had no intentions of ever listening to a Japanese band again.   

That was fifteen years ago, though, and thanks to a few bands like Cibbo Matto and Shonen Knife, I started giving some Japanese bands a listen.  Here are five bands, some old and some new, who at the very least sing in Japanese.  All of these are worth checking out and most have found their way into my regular music rotation. 

Enjoy! 

Asobi Sesku - Citrus:  Originally I was thinking of putting this on a different list featuring only shoegaze acts, but I think they belong better on this list.  Asobi Sesku hail from New York and are fronted by a brother/sister set of japanese twins.  Some of their songs are performed in English and some in Japanese, but ALL of their songs on Citrus are so awesome that musically they transcend language.  They create a wonderfully thick wall of sound topped with the sweet and spry female vocals.  Check out "Strawberries", "Pink Cloud Tracing Paper" or "Strings" for a taste.  Also, if you happen to be a member of eMusic, download the exclusive live album offered there.  Recorded at Spaceland, close to their home, it will get you excited to check them out live when they come around near you.  

Check this out if you like:  Wall of sound guitars, dreamy vocals, songs about cats sung in Japanese. 

Balzac - Beyond the Darkness:  What happens when four Japanese youths listen to The Misfits a little too much?  They form their own horror punk band!  Balzac completely rocks and they know just enough English to allow you to shout along.  The band has even been embraced by The Misfits themselves, and you can buy their awesomely horror-inspired swag on the Misfits website.  Chant along to the chorus of "Day The Earth Caught Fire" or "Out of the Blue II" for a taste of what they bring.  Also, if you really want to go the extra mile, go directly to their website at www.samuraifactory.com, fork over some yen and get some of the even cooler swag available there, including long sleeve tees that are scary as hell and exclusive discs.   

Check this out if you like:  Pumping your fist and chanting, staring at the covers of Famous Monsters magazine, thinking there hasn’t been a good punk band since The Ramones. 

Coaltar of the Deepers - No Thank You:  Where Asobi Sesku creates a poppy wall of shoegaze sound, Coaltar of the Deepers creates abrasively haunting noisescapes.  These guys are a true japanese shoegaze band.  Long instrumentals occasionally broken up by vocals that bear a passing resemblance to bands like Mogwai, or occasionally, early Explosions in the Sky.  I don't really know much about this band other than they have three full albums, a handful of EPs and their latest release is a live CD+DVD set that includes videos.  Check out "Good Morning" or "Giant".  The last song even has breaks that borrow from Death Metal.  The problem here is that this one is hard to find without ordering directly from their website.  There are three EPs on Amazon but I can’t speak for any of them. 

Check this out if you like:  Noise, shoegaze, escaping into that cacophonous place in your head. 
 

The Spiders – Let’s Go Spiders!:  Just like in America, Japan had their own British Invasion in the 1960s.  The Spiders were the homegrown players in that particular ballgame.  This album contains 28 tracks that illustrate that they may not have reached far beyond their home country, but it’s not for lack of ambition.  This is the kind of music you would expect to hear in the background of one of those Dark Sky Drive-In Double Feature releases.  Snappy, fun garage rock and nods to bands like The Association, The Kinks and The Animals abound on this set.  Check out their hyper take on Chuck Berry’s “Johnny B. Goode” or the way they ripped off the song “Cherish” for their hit “Kuroyuri No Uta”.  This is fun music that will turn heads at any party as people go, “I think I’ve heard this before… no… wait… who is this?” 

Check this out if you like:  Fun party music, randomly shouting “Yeah!” in the middle of a song, messing with people’s minds. 

Thee Michelle Gun Elephant – Gear Blues:  And while we’re on the subject of garage rock, let me just say that The White Stripes, The Strokes and The Hives were not the ones to originally aspire to bring back a garage music resurgence in the last decade.  In fact, Japan’s Thee Michelle Gun Elephant were on the scene here in the States a full year before The Stroke’s “Last Night” permeated the airwaves, and their album is arguably better.  Gear Blues is dangerous garage rock a la The MC5 and The Stooges.  These are good, solid rock songs with names that can only come from a Japanese band’s tenuous grasp on the English language.  I would present to you “Satanic Boom Boom Head”, “Boiled Oil” and “Brian Down” as examples.   

Check this out if you like:  Carrying a switchblade “just in case”, carving your true love’s name into your arm instead of getting a tattoo, driving fast and not taking shit from anyone.