Electric Eel Shock

In recent years, Japan has produced some of the most powerful guitar bands in the world. From Melt Banana's breathless recreation of punk as jazz virtuosity, through the various incarnations of Acid Mothers Temple (who also bring their passionate psychedelia to Mono this month) to Electric Eel Shock, Japanese rock demonstrates both reverence for tradition and an originality that leaves most European and American musicians sounding sterile and unimaginative.

Electric Eel Shock have been touring relentlessly for ten years, astonishing festivals crowds, tiny bars and upstaging more established outfits through their combination of catchy pop and heavy riffs. Their song titles - Rock and Roll Can Save the World and I Wanna be a Black Sabbath Guy but I should be a Black Bass - sum up their attitude: heads-down, hair shaking, sinuous, direct and humorous. Although their first album - the rare 'Maybe… I Think we can Beat Nirvana' - hints at a grunge lineage, their inspiration comes from 1970s' metal and punk: short, snappy numbers, unfussy arrangements and throwaway lyrics.

Akihito Morimoto (Guitar & Vocal) and bassist Kazuto Maekawa met at school in Osaka, sharing an enthusiasm for Black. When they hooked up with naked drummer Gian, the E.E.S. power trio was formed from the ruins of an eleven piece ensemble. The simplicity of the line-up, informed by Akihito's experiences in a successful pop group and the power trios of the past, encourages clarity and precision. Punk contributes pace and length; metal the hooks and attitude; pop the catchy choruses. Solos are restrained - the lyrics are playful, filtered through Japanese English and the rhythm section pushes the energy up.

In spite of the good humour and obscure references (Akihito's lyrical preoccupations include the liberating power of music and angling), Electric Eel Shock are as serious live as the great trios of the past - a curt re-imagining of the 1960s' blues-rock dream. While Acid Mothers Temple recall the expansive wanderings of later experimentation, Electric Eel Shock are abrupt and witty, a direct challenge to the worthiness and kitsch of many Scottish rockers.