Being a writer/columnist, one is supposed to have little trouble describing the scene/events of a particular evening. On Tuesday, October 8th Melt-Banana created quite a challenge at Little Brothers.

Originally from Japan the quartet of YaSuko on vocals, Agata on guitar, Rika mm’ on bass and SUDOH, Toshiaki on drums defy many of our conventional thoughts on rock.

The music itself carries derision from punk and heavy metal. The guitars dart and stab while the drums boom and crash down with authority. Most of the songs were exceedingly short. Particularly during the second encore when in rapid fire fashion music exploded from the instruments and vocals
before YaSuko would proclaim, “Ok, next song.”

YaSuko is the genre-defying component of Melt-Banana. She is a pixie like figure standing center stage offering almost undecipherable lyrics in a screeching, stuttering assault. The stutters glorified, particularly during the cover of The Who’s “My Generation.”

Melt-Banana is a unique experiment in the world of rock. It is as if Bjork decided to front Metallica or Alvin and the Chipmunks finally got really pissed at Dave. They are not for fans that like their music to come in a neat, pre-packaged radio friendly format. But for anyone with an open mind
into the possibilities afforded the sonic spectrum, definitely check them out if afforded the chance.

They recently helped headline the More Than Music Festival in Columbus on July 5th and are currently touring the United States this month through November.