For more than a decade, the rock world has viewed synthesizers with the same foul face that a child would have with swallowing medicine. Indeed, unless they’re combined with abrasive guitars a la Nine Inch Nails or given trendy, repetitive beats and rapped shout-outs, keyboards haven’t been popular lately. Much of that has to do with the lingering effects of grunge.
However, there’s a new generation of alternative-music fans, one that was raised on the Internet and other forms of high technology. To them, synthesizers sound as fresh and forward thinking as they did to Generation X in the early ‘80s when electronic pop pioneers like Depeche Mode, New Order, and Yaz lit up dance clubs.
As the mainstream continued to depend on guitars in the late ‘90s, it was inevitable that keyboards would be resurrected as a form of protest and as an artistic statement. The surprising success of the Postal Service proved that, yes, there is a market for synthesizer-driven alternative pop.
Japan's Pretty Pop is among the latest entries in this vastly growing field. Pretty Pop shamelessly pillages their ‘80s heroes on the Japanese act’s self-titled debut. A handful of their lyrics are in the band’s native language, but that doesn’t prevent any of the joy and love they’re communicating from being understood. Hardcore ‘80s aficionados will see reflections of Tom Tom Club, Altered Images, and Strawberry Switchblade; however, to today’s kids this stuff will sound contemporary, even suitable for some of their favorite Japanese animation.
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Pretty Pop don’t keep the ‘80s at an arm’s length; they wholeheartedly hug the decade’s synthetic excesses with nostalgic pride. Composer and instrumentalist Ken Kinoshita is joined by three female vocalists – Betwixt, Frau, and Eva – a Charlie’s Angels for the Rubik’s Cube era, if you will. Tracks like “Placebo” and “Birdcage” actually sound like they’re from 1983.
Pretty Pop tries to set the clock back by twenty years, plunging headlong into the days of Pac Man and Donkey Kong.
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