Shonen Knife: Overdrive

It's hard to believe that this is Shonen Knife's 19th full-length record, but the pop punk group has always embraced change as transformative, and while singer Naoko Yamano is the only founding member still on board, the Sonic Youth favourites remain an interesting proposition. 2012's Pop Tune was more melancholy, but Overdrive responds with songs such as the brilliantly uptempo Ramen Rock, while Dance to the Rock harks back to some of their earliest work. Shonen Knife have a wry humour, present in the lyrics, and they pay homage to their musical roots on the bass-heavy Green Tea . But they also explore a softer sound: Fortune Cookie has beautiful jangly guitars, and Black Crow is a slower, evolving gem. Shonen Knife's talents are best distilled on something like the poppy Bad Luck Song, which reaches back to 1970s rock, but yet sounds so fresh. It's something they do very well. shonenknife.net
Download: Dance to the Rock, Fortune Cookie, Bad Luck Song