Dob - La Lu La Roo
Whether it is the British who have problems understanding the quirkiness of Japanese pop music (Shonen Knife, the Boredoms, etc) or the inability of the Japanese to be anything other than novelty value, is uncertain.
Hopefully then, Dob will manage to bridge this gap. Their chief asset in this respect must be the voice of Norica who manages to avoid that cheeky oriental triteness of her pop predecessors, and instead soothes us with a mixture of French chanteuse ("Au Revoir") and grunge chick ("Baby Stand").
If this sounds a peculiar concoction, it is no less so than the rest of her fellow Dobs, who between them manage to take us through a magical hotch potch of styles: indie, trance and dub all getting a look-in, whilst the acid-jazz groove of "Wax" is an absolute belter, bettered only by the splendidly mellow "Well Away".
So are they hedging their bets? Dabbling in a multitude of music’s current whims? if so, they should leave the likes of Erasure well alone. The hookline to Blue Savannah was always painful, and in "James" they obviously do very little to enhance it.
The Album is also a CD Rom, allowing you, apparently, to glimpse into the world of Planet Dob. Fortunately, I guess, I’m not compatible with this latest wizardry, for, if their graphics are anything like as diverse as their influences, then Dob are seriously going to mess with your head.
The fact that they can juxtapose so many seemingly conflicting types of music, tie them all together and produce something as individual as it is compelling (yet without sounding like individuality is their soul objective), should allow them a longevity rarely enjoyed by those that have strived before them. (7).
Davros C Dick
