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Japanese electronica/rock duo Michiyuki Kawashima and Masayuki Nakano (aka Boom Boom Satellites) are in something of an interesting position when it comes to promoting this latest album ‘Exposed’ to Australian audiences. While the duo have been prolifically active in their home country over the past eleven years – indeed, ‘Exposed’ is their seventh studio album – to date their exposure to international audiences has been comparatively slight, despite remixes for the likes of Garbage and Josh Wink, and appearances on high budget anime soundtracks such as ‘Appleseed’ and ‘Vexille.’ Over the past decade, BBS have also shifted considerably in sonic approach; while early albums such as ‘Out Loud’ and ‘Umbra’ saw them fusing contorted, Squarepusher-esque processed drums with jazz horns and dub influences, 2005’s ‘Full Of Elevating Pleasures’ and the ensuing ‘On’ album saw them increasingly moving towards straight-out rocky electronica/synth-pop, a stylistic trend that certainly continues in earnest on ‘Exposed’.
Opening track ‘Upside Down’ certainly impresses from the very outset, employing the BBS’ signature meticulous approach to complex sound design to create a slamming electro-rock flame-out that blends crashing, digitally-processed drums with overdriven synth riffs and yelled vocals to stellar effect. It’s so strong an opening gambit in fact, that ‘What Goes Around Comes Around’ can’t help but come across as disappointingly ‘conventional’ by comparison as it fuses stadium-rock friendly pop choruses with howling guitar riffage and the sorts of distorted electro synths you’d expect from The Presets. While it’s certainly the sort of stuff that probably packs out the Shibuya AX on a hot Friday night, the lingering sense creeps in that BBS have perhaps sacrificed some of their initial intrigue factor in favour of a more predictable synth-rock route. It’s a factor that also sadly applies to both of the singles here, ‘Intergalactic’ and ‘Easy Action’, which certainly provide plenty of fuel in the way of distorted synth power chords and radio-friendly chorus hooks, but also lean dangerously towards cheesy throwaway pop at points. Luckily, there are still a few substantially more interesting moments packed in amongst the tracklisting here, with the storming ‘Fiends’ casting a far more interesting light on BBS’ rockist ambitions with its grinding metal power chords and skittering live breakbeats, before ‘Get Back In My House’ takes things out with what’s probably this album’s most delightfully unhinged synth-punkoid thrashout.
While longtime BBS fans may be left slightly disappointed by the more mainstream synth-rock trajectory in evidence on ‘Exposed’, for the numerous Australian listeners yet to discover this Japanese duo, there’s still plenty that impresses on this seventh album.
