Bo-Peep – Is It Good For You

• 15th Jul 2008

This album, titled ‘Is it good for you ?’, is the third album by Japanese all female three piece Bo-Peep. They describe their music as ‘Rock ‘n’ Roll, Grungy, Sheep Metal, Dark-Pop’. This should be interesting.

The lyrics for the songs are a combination of Japanese and English. Some songs are one or the other, some are a combination. I listen to the album for the first time, and I can’t help but like it. Musically it’s exactly how they describe it – rock ‘n’ roll, grungy, dark-pop. Is it Sheep Metal ? I think it might be. The bass is rolling, the drums are loose and the guitar has a dirty grunge / punk sound. You can see why they’ve just managed a successful UK tour.

Lyrically, they’re not going to win any awards. Musically though, they offer a lot more than a lot of other supposed ‘punk rock’ bands out there. There are some stand out tracks on this album. ‘Crazy Bomb’ and ‘B-Level Motion’ bludgeon you with some Ramones-esque stylings. ‘Hairy’ is reminiscent of Nirvana’s ‘Stain’. ‘Trip’ is a bass driven song, which again has me thinking of Nirvana and Mudhoney. Then, just when I think I have them pegged, there’s a track titled ‘Coffee’, which is more melodic and makes me think of Cyndi Lauper singing Tom McRae’s ‘Stronger Than Dirt’. Strange.

If you like the Ramones, early Nirvana and music of that ilk, I think you’ll like this album. It’s quirky, sure, but it’s also good rocking music. It’s not a gimmick, this is quite real. If you can find the album, give it a listen. You may be as pleasantly surprised as I was.