Pseudo Nippon – Colorama
The main difference between London-based Pseudo Nippon's second full-length and debut Universal Pork Tai Chi lies in the project's membership, which has evolved from a one man job to a fully-fledged unit. Main man P-ta is joined by not one, but two drummers on Colorama, a decidedly batshit burst of eclectic art-pop.
Musically, it's all over the place – glitchy breakbeats and chopped up samples populate the sonic terrain. P-ta's love for J-pop and Asian culture quickly becomes a recurring motif, but his own presence gets tedious, and fast; his vocals are as woefully arduous and try-hard as the hipster shaman look he's sporting on the album's cover art.
The strongest cuts are the ones with the slowest tempos: Jewelled Eyes of a Carp has a smooth, jazzy flow to it, and the relatively ambient Paper Moon tastefully showcases the collective's playful nature. Both tracks captivate in their own right, but they can't outshine the over-packed nature of the album's remainder.