Nakeru
Lights! Camera! Action!
My Japanese is a little rusty, but I believe the term ‘Nakeru’ means something along the lines of ‘I am moved to cry’. So, are we to expect the start of the next wave of depressing, introverted shoe-gazing from the London band that have adopted ‘Nakeru’ as their moniker? Well, no!
With a range of American and British influences, Nakeru are a rocky indie band with Weezer and the Pixies evident in the triplet of tracks on offer.
‘Lights! Camera! Action!’ jumps out of the disk with a nifty rhythm idea that bounces the song along like a power-ball (the kids toy, not the dishwasher tablet). The chorus continues the space-hopping bounce, but with more of a straight-laced feel and the sound of Britpop slipping in the back door without a grin. If the hooky melody in the chorus doesn’t make you want to sing along, the one in the reprise may well break you into submission.
With more of a sway than a bounce, ‘Malena on Ice’ is even Britpoppier and has a great rocking chorus. At times, this song is reminiscent of the Dum Dums, with the vocal taking on the form of a young Josh Doyle and hooky guitar licks creeping in all over the place.
The Kaiser Chiefs are brought to mind in the drums, guitars, and vocals of final track, ‘Hip Hip! Hooray!’, which is one of those epic-indie affairs with lots of repeated lines and a few ‘oh-oh-oooo’s’ thrown in for good measure.
With three cracking tunes on this record, of which two have oodles of originality and one rather less so, Nakeru are heading in the right direction with the emphasis on hooks and melodies and a penchant for interesting guitar work. They claim, in their biography, that they are going to be louder and better than your favourite rock groups – and they have a plausible exhibit in ‘Lights! Camera! Action!’, should it go to trial.
Up-beat, catchy and not at all glum.
Written by Smith on
