The cover of this seven-inch is really vague and arty, and it took
me a while to figure out which bands were on it, but I figured out
that Sweet J.A.P. was one of the bands. I knew that name
because, if I'm not mistaken, the singer of this bands is the guy
who did the intro to the newest D4 album. (* it's not Sho, the
singer. Takashi, the guitar player did it.) I'd heard good things
about them, so I figured I should give this record a spin. I was
blown away. It's like finding a fifty dollar bill in the pocket of a
jacket that you haven't worn for years. Sweet J.A.P. play tight
and trashy rock'n'roll that's reminiscent of the early Replacements
in it's catchy rawness and reminiscent of Teengenerate in it's
ability to make your stereo sound like it's in the middle of a
speaker-blowing orgasm. The Das Boot side is good, too. It's
also trashy rock'n'roll, but more in the vein of the New Bomb
Turks at their best. As you can probably tell, though, it's the
Sweet J.A.P. side that's got me going nuts. So, yeah, this
release is a couple of years old but what the hell? A gem is
a gem. Check it out.
(Razorcake, issue #12)
Best 7" received this round. Tokyo's Das Boot deliver some
sweet punk rock crunch with serious edge. Heavy-handed
feedback lends this more of a Pussy Galore/Butthole Suffers
appeal rather than any Japanese noise bands a total wrench in
the system. Sweet J.A.P. are more straightforward punk rock
that still maintain a total edge (and it way easy to chant along
with).
(Spank Fanzine)
Two bands of Japanese heritage (Das Boot from Tokyo, Sweet
J.A.P. from Minneapolis) deciding to rock your world on a piece
of clear vinyl. Das Boot practice noisy lo-fi punk rock and have
the best tune on here, "Hate Man". (Thier other tune "Whole
Lotta Baby" is all right but suffers by comparison). Sweet J.A.P.
do solid straight-ahead punk with some nice "oooo-wwhhhooo"s
on "Dum Den Dum Den Dum De Den". Das Boot take the
honors on this one, though I wouldn't count Sweet J.A.P. out yet.
(Shredding Paper #8)
Two Japanese bands I have never heard, Das Boot- a rockin'
punk band with lots of ferocity and vigor, and Sweet J.A.P.- a
catchy, primitive rock 'n' roll group. Das Boot's first song, "Hate
Man", is a blaze of ultra fast guitars and feral screams. Their
second song, "Whole Lotta Baby", has an impressive, stompin'
rock 'n' roll beat with a lot of rhythm and energy. Sweet J.A.P.
is more to my liking. They remind me of the Titans or the
Havenots'. Their electrifying tune, "Dum Den Dum Den Dum De
Den" is sooo contagious I can still hear it thumpin' in my head.
This record is highly recommended.
(Blank Generation)
Two Japanese garage punk bands, but one lives in Minneapolis
(Sweet J.A.P.). Sweet J.A.P. cruise along with a chugging mid-
tempo sound, while Das Boot have a nastier, faster style for one
song and do more of the traditional garage thing on the other. A
nice dose of orneriness from each.
(Suburban Voice No. 44)
Another new split 7" from a nice and neat DIY label (did you get
the pun?!). Das Boot is quite a germanish name bringing us a
rough sound which is tight and straight forward. Again, it's fine
punkrock from Japan. Extremely enjoyable! Sweet JAP sounds
pretty much the same, just a little bit more off-beats. Brilliant as
well. Too bad the 7" is just 4 songs short, uhm, long.
(Enough Fanzine)
