I know I should probably keep track of the bands I write about it, but my brain doesn’t work in that way. God knows what kind of way it works in (if it even works at all!) Anyway, all I know is that I’ve written about a fair amount of bands from Japan but there’s one in particular that I should have written about a LONG time ago, but never did because I’m an idiot.
So, I’ll put me being an idiot aside for a bit and write about The Fadeaways and their newest record, Pretty Wild which came out only a few weeks ago.
The Fadeaways are THE perfect 60s Garage Rock style band. For me they are every band I love (that fit this genre) and more. They remind me of very early The Pretty Things, The Gruesomes (aka greatest band of all time) and there’s definitely hints of the most beloved band- Ramones. If I listen to something and I can hear the Ramones or The Gruesomes lurking in there somewhere- then I’m happy.
I’ve made myself believe I’ve written about the band before, but even if I have- it doesn’t matter. What matters anyway! The Fadeaways make me want to ignore all my daily responsibilities and just listen to music like this all day. The true test of how great the band are? Well, my cat hasn’t run off the second I started playing them so that’s something. Normally she goes off into another room and sleeps. Not this time- I think little Mary has good taste. Anyway, back to The Fadeaways. I won’t limit myself to telling you just about their most recent release, but the band have been around FOREVER and there’s a lot to cover. For me they just have that really, really strong and addictive sound that, no matter what they do, it’ll always be the most energetic and mind-blowing thing you’ve ever heard. There’s this beautiful snarl in Toyozo’s voice that just makes you feel like you’ve heard music (in general) for the very first time.
They’re the kind of band you would play if you wanted to influence a younger relative, so they go find their own path musically. They just have this bite to their sound that you cannot help but fall stupidly in love with. The second you play their record, Teenage Hitsville- that’s when you know..that’s when you brutally know you’ve found something to really submerge yourself in and to just ignore everything around you. Will it sound like this record? No. Never. Go head first into this record and take it from there. Let it burst your eardrums and take your soul. That’s how they all get you in the end!
Japanese Garage Rock and Japanese Punk is MASSIVELY underrated, and when you have bands like The Fadeaways- how can you even THINK about ignoring how great it is? It makes you want to sack off where you live, take your possessions and your cat- and move to where the bands are. That’s how good they are. But we have social media, so it makes that kind of dreaming easier to do! Everything about The Fadeaways is just cool, and I know that the term “cool” is so redundant and I think I’ve only ever called one person cool (Lou Reed. The coolest ever.) Their sound and their style is perfect, and the way they play…my god! Have you ever heard anything so rowdy and so wonderfully chaotic? You probably have- but not like this. They make the kind of music that bar fights break out to, and all you can do is watch and throw the nearest beer in the direction of the biggest person there, then bolt out the door like the cowards we all are!
The band formed nearly 20 years ago, and in that time, they’ve toured the world and put out some incredible records. It should be illegal for a band to be THIS good; they’ve got this sound that, sure we’ve heard in other bands to a degree, but there is something about The Fadeways that stands out. They’re louder (even though there’s only 3 of them) and the noise they make is nothing short of “INJECT THIS INTO MY BODY RIGHT NOW” kind of feeling. Like, sure you can feel every vocal and note in your ears, but you want it to hit you deeper. You want the songs pouring out of you. That’s how great they are. What are their live shows like? Probably as intense. I will make a promise to myself to try see them if they ever play the UK again because a band like this cannot be missed at all. I think they make the kind of music that is designed to be heard live. To really experience it in a dark and sketchy basement bar and at the end of the night you leave covered in warm beer, probably without one of your shoes and don’t even try looking for your jacket- why did you even bring one?
The band are wonderfully chaotic, and I can only apologise for not writing about them sooner (the apology is to myself.) For me, The Fadeaways are the kind of band that you listen to (how you are feeling doesn’t matter) and you just immediately feel better. I love the loudness; I love how together their sound is and I just love how they combine everything I love about music and make this beautiful noise. You feel like you’re hearing the greats for the first time- The Dead Boys, Ramones, Count Five, Beefheart…all of them and more. The Fadeaways make you want to start a band, and I hope there’s a bunch of Punk kids in Japan listening to them and feel the urge to start their own band and in 20 years’ time- someone will be writing about them.
* I didn’t write about the new record. All I did was tell you how great the band are and to be honest, that should be enough (if you weren’t already aware of how great they are!)
Beat In My Bones. 