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 this is my ego. boing boing boioioioing. woooAWOW-AWOW-AWOW shawoddawoddy blurgh.
ORGAN issue 188 december 14th 2006 Whooooo, we trawl through and through, throwing on new CD after new CD, not really looking at the cover or all the blurb and accompanying hype, waiting for the music to grab us. Most of the time the music doesn't, most of the time we just politely pass by and move on to the next in the ever demanding pile. We dive in knowing full well that the trawl will be worth it and it may take another sixteen duds before something demands our words - we know the potential treasures are there waiting. The Mayors are yet another band from Cardiff, they left the capital (subliminal advertising, the new Leave The Capital single is out in Jan) and moved to London in search of those paved streets of gold. The Mayors have the gold already, they just hit us with five instantly demanding tracks; it's that bendy shouty pointy churning thing that much loved bands like Muy Feo or Mariachi (I see they're back) or Scissormen or Homage Freaks did. Some wired kind of urgent math rock that doesn't quite add up. I like it when the math doesn't quite add up. Hardboiled yet easy to lock in to, we got one here, oh yes, more top grade Organ fuel. Five clever demanding slightly abrasive, not too abrasive, their hardboiled edgy musical awkwardness is not difficult to swallow. Nice artwork too. Five tracks, each and every one a favourite, I can't choose. Well recorded, well played, well well well. I think you'll be hearing a lot more from us about the Mayors Of Miyazaki in 2007, don't wait until then though, I see they have some MP3s that you can download and this fine CD is well worth sending off some of you hard earned money for. The Mayors are the sound that enters your head when you look at those overcrowded phone line masts where all the conversations jump in to one and fend off the pointy riffs and the thrilling undercurrents. We like this lots, you will tooooooooo... www.mayorsofmiyazaki.com
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SUBBA CULTCHA november 23rd 2006 With the taut, off kilter rhythms of Braid mixed with the the devilish guitar histrionics of Biffy Clyro whilst underpinned perfectly by a mixture of the screeching accompaniment of The Automatic and the raw passion of Bluetip. Mightily impressive stuff!
SMOTHER (U.S.) december 30th 2006 Across the pond lays this Muse-like pop-rock adventuresome group known as Mayors of Miyazaki. Marrying angular riff rock with alliterated screams and melodic crooning, the Mayors could be the next Refused. Sounding off with hard-edged rock numbers, they easily cascade into a cacophony of altered melodies and distorted guitars with weird awkward vocals ala the Blood Brothers. It’s eclectic punk at its very best.
UK MUSIC SEARCH january 2007 Thrusting jerky stabs of guitar noise amidst violent drum crashes, Mayors Of Miyazaki manage to fuse together some of the best parts of the Blood Brothers, Fugazi and Karate and create something undoubtedly inspired and chaotic. On debut EP, KANCHO, the three piece twist, jerk, thrust, bark and yelp their way through five songs that throw enough ideas and concepts around to keep most bands busy for years. Opening number BETWIXT TWO THINGS is an attention grabbing slice of post-hardcore bliss, violent guitar riffs bouncing energetically against complex drum patterns; Gareth Thomas barks and yelps his way through proceedings whilst the rest of the band make out like hyperactive kids on a bouncy castle of post-hardcore rumblings. The spiky QUEEN MARY VS. THE ROBOTS and CRITICS LACK CONVICTION precariously balance derangement, chaos and brilliance whilst on MR TITANIC'S GOOD TIME ICE SLICER, The Mayors Of Miyazaki unleash anthemic choruses amidst the math rock guitar jerks and increasingly complex drum explosions. Closer GENITAL BEN proves a fitting climax as the trio make yet more chaotic noise, ending things in a whirlwind of crazed guitar riffs, excitable yelps and frenetic drum smashes. An excitably energised explosion of chaotic noise and complex mood swings, KANCHO is the sound of Mayors Of Miyazaki throwing everything they've got into the mix and delivering a set of songs as inspired as they are crazed. An inspired and brilliant opening shot from the Mayors Of Miyazaki.
TASTY march 2007 I'll be honest here from the start: I listened to this once when it arrived on my doorstep, and didn't touch it again for a fortnight. But everything gets a second chance in my book, and I'm glad I came back to this. With an eccentric blend of quirky post hardcore and shouty math rock, Londoners The Mayors of Miyazaki present their debut EP Kancho. At times complex yet strangely maintaining its catchiness throughout, hints of The Blood Brothers and Shellac are whispered in my ear, yet that ‘special something’ seems to constantly elude their grasp. It may be merely personal preference, but I think this band would benefit from a slightly harder edge, not necessarily more distorted guitars or a more "metal" sound, but perhaps knock it up a notch on the intensity front and tone down the moments of random jazz. The production is top notch and is complemented by undeniably tight performances from all band members. This is certainly better on second listen. Conjuring up images of urban cityscapes one minute and smoky jazz clubs the next, The Mayors are the sound of a complex, bustling city that never stops moving. Kancho is also catchy as hell, which on first listen is something I never expected it to be. With a bit of fine tuning and a tablespoon more of intensity thrown into the mix, The Mayors of Miyazaki could be on to something good here. I'll be watching this lot closely.
UNPEELED january 2007 Robust, sharp, occasionaly annoying. The eighty slick and jazzy time changes in the first 90 seconds of the opening track "Betwixt Two Things" proves the point by scorching the rock sox off any passing Satan. They go on to do a lot more stuff like this, showing that not only can they play, but they don't know when not to. Irony innit. Most white label chancers play badly through a mud soup of production and when the good Mayors turn up, all crisp sparks, effortless musical mastery and a steely grip on jazz, metal, rawk, pop and rock... all I can do is demand a manager and an engineer to make them as massive as they should be. Nip in, grab two copies of this slab, one for your pension fund, the other for your ears.
GOD IS IN THE TV july 2007 At only five tracks long, I'm not sure if this counts as an E.P. or an album, the only thing I can be certain of is that it rocks. Hard. The members of Mayors Of Miyazaki are all occupied with other bands as part of the Tooting Bizarre collective, meaning they have a rage of pretty diverse influences, which shows through from the opening crunch of Betwixt Two Things to the final notes of closing track Genital Ben. Where to even start with this lot? The vocals are reminiscent of both Bloc Party and Yourcodenameis: Milo, which is something I never though I'd be saying about any act. Then we have the enormous math-rock inspired crunching guitars that could be straight from Redneck Manifesto, coupled with a knack for a tune that simply cannot be ignored. This is quite simply brilliant. Queen Mary Vs. The Robots starts with a spaced out guitar sound that hints at perhaps an epic slow jam kind of feel - it delivers nothing of the sort however, and unfolds into and epic, multi-riffed beast that hurtles along at breakneck speed. As we then move onto Critics Lack Conviction we're treated to a brief lounge jazz interlude of all things, before it's deep into riff territory again, broken up by space noises Vangelis would be proud of. You could honestly live inside this record, listening to nothing else for a month and still not discover everything it has to offer. It is by turns filled with frantic enthusiasm, mellow wig outs, crunching riffs and always a sense of relentless inventiveness. There has been some real quality stuff released this year for people who like a bit of thought to go with their music, with Battles finally releasing their album, the return of Fridge, the promise of an album from iLiKETRAiNS, but on the evidence presented on this album EP, Mayors of Miyazaki have trumped them all with a massive concussion of shape-pulling, manic, shouty rock creativity. The best thing I've heard this year so far.
ORGAN issue 199 march 22nd 2007 [ the grosvenor, london - march 15th 2007 ] We’ve been itching to catch up with the Mayors since they sent us their Kancho EP a few months ago. We described it as a bendy, shouty, pointy, churning thing, some wired kind of urgent math rock that doesn’t quite add up. Well, as good as the EP was, the Mayors themselves in the flesh are an even better proposition. Excuse me for shouting but, honestly, WE HAVE GOT ONE HELL OF A NEW BAND HERE, PEOPLE. The Mayors were hard to fault. Had I bothered to look inside their lovingly-crafted CD sleeve, I’d have known that they were a three-piece, but I didn’t bother, and so busy and inventive was their sound that I assumed we were dealing with a four or five piece, so I was taken aback and wondered how just three of ‘em could reproduce the material. Without the slightest bit of bother was the answer. Three urchins, all of whom looked too young to enjoy a legal pint, took to the stage and almost apologetically said hello. They then launched into a set of writhing, twisting and utterly dynamic rock music that had the couple of dozen of us watching hugging ourselves in delight. Live they have less of the smart-arsed, abrasive edge that’s apparent on the demo. The sound is fuller, more melodic, and there’s no clever posturing, just three kids utterly into the buzz of playing their music for us. They manage to be inventive without losing drive or momentum, even on tracks like ‘Critics lack Conviction’, where for a moment the three of them bark madly at each other, they sandwich this strange interlude between two quite different but compelling, multi-riffed passages of driving rock. The musicianship is excellent. All three wrestle from their instruments a variety of sounds and textures (we see a five string bass actually being played to the full, rather than just being posed with) and they’re accomplished enough to avoid the impression that they’re just playing for themselves. US influences seem apposite to mention, the Mayors take the flow and thrust of Stinking Lizaveta and play it through the jagged arrangements of At The Drive In. In their more straightforward moments (such as the chorus to ‘Queen Mary vs. the Robots’) they come close to the commercial metal of Hundred Reasons, but they’re rarely that obvious for any length of time. Shellac and Hose.Got.Cable are other reference points, but they also bring a mischievous English wit to the intensity, as well as a readiness to throw any number of ideas into a song, not unlike the Optimist Club at times. Though they’d be appreciated by a prog lover or the Cardiacs cognoscenti, the Mayors of Miyazaki are definitely a rock band in the noisy, raucous sense of the term, just one infinitely more interesting than usual. They’d go down a storm with the more open-minded of the ATP crowd. And the next challenge for the Mayors of Miyazaki is precisely that, to find an audience beyond the pitifully small number of punters here tonight. If you get the chance, you should make the effort to see them. This was as good a set as I’ve seen for ages from a new, young band starting out on their adventures. The highest of recommendations. (Phil Whalley) www.mayorsofmiyazaki.com www.myspace.com/tootingbizarre
PLANTATION CAFÉ august 2006 [ plantation cafe, guildford - june 30th 2006 ] ...Second on are London post-hardcore progsters MAYORS OF MIYAZAKI, who explode onto the stage with a barrage of angular quirkiness. The café is bombarded with frantic barks and yelps mixed with melodic vocals, high pitched angular guitar lines and solid bass. The concept of Time Signature is more or less thrown out of the window from the word go. Their insane sound brings to mind acts such as At the Drive In and Biffy Clyro. They are confident and friendly with the crowd, and are an impressive act to watch (and a tricky one to follow). They even throw in a cover of blues/jazz classic ‘Boom Boom Boom Boom’ (not the Vengaboys track), which is performed in a very tongue in cheek and amusing fashion. They seem to become more and more angular as the set goes on, and by the end they are playing at breakneck amazing levels. Frantic, energetic, schizophrenic and bloody good fun!...
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