Shonen Knife – Free Time

Despite multiple line-up changes, Shonen Knife’s set up and style has been unswerving across their thirty year existence: three girls, three chords, and an irreverent streak a mile wide. On An Old Stationary Shop, remaining original member Naoko Yamano mentions buying a notebook so she can write down lyrics, and they’re keepers alright – her first all-English set, they’re characteristically bizarre and childishly charming. “Rolled cake, I want to sleep in it” goes Rock n Roll Cake, while Monster Jellyfish turns the tables on their kaiju foes by recommending “the more you chew them, the more flavourful they become.” Amongst such fluffy nonsense, the title of Economic Crisis stands out, but fiscal soothsaying is swiftly quashed by a riff cribbed from Ace of Spades and some rough feedback. They continue to be deep as a puddle, but stupendously so; here’s hoping that they refuse to grow up for another thirty years.