Electric Eel Shock - Sugoi Indeed

Cards on the table: Electric Eel Shock are a technically excellent rock and roll band... but so what? Were this a band of three dumpy, middle-aged guys from Barnsley playing in the local Miner's Welfare, would anyone give a damn? Would they so easily adorn the pages of the alternative press? Unlikely. Somehow the endearing novelty value of Japan's continued non-ironic love for all things corny grants EES a license to release some decidedly uninspired 12 bar blues with a metallic twist. The production is exemplary thanks to Attie Bauw (Judas Priest, Scorpions) but frankly the most remarkable thing about this album is the way it was funded. Fans bought into the band via SellaBand.com, ultimately furnishing EES with $50,000 towards their production costs. It's a nice glimmer of hope in a contemporary download culture rapidly forgetting that most musicians actually need some sort of income in order to survive.