Search - Natural Calamity :: Peach Head

Trip out

Charles R Gigante | 03/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The recent influx of talent from Japan is undeniable in the music world. High profile acts like Pizzicato five and Shonen Knife have done fairly well commerically here in the US, but have given American audiences a somewhat false perception on what the Japanese actually are doing creatively. Natural Calamity, a Japanese duo, are neither lounge-core pop, nor silly girly punk. They are an electronically-influenced guitar based band. Live guitars, basses, analog synths, etc. grace all of the tracks in a completely organic fashion. The vocals on some of the tracks are breathy, sensuous additions that complement the duo's songwriting perfectly. It is the simplistic songwriting and arranging that make this record stick out from other Japanese peers. Natural Calamity take a lot of the piss out todays electronic music and add some bluesy guitar, pulsing bass, and beautiful words to make this not only one of the better albums to come out of Japan in recent years, but also one of the best domestic releases in recent memory."

Mellow, almost new age alternative to the usual "adult" fare

Charles R Gigante | 02/02/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Natural Calamity has a very nice, mellow answer to Portishead with Peach Head. The melodies are soft and almost sensuous while the vocals give a feeling of floating. The signature track is "As You Know", which has almost a haunting lilt to it (try getting it out of your head after hearing it twice). A terrific disc to pop into the CD, open a bottle of pinot noir and snuggle up!"