Search - Half Japanese :: Hello

Jad and David at it again

Toast and Jam | Seoul, South Korea | 04/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Before everyone was raving about some guy named Calvin Johnson and this thing called twee pop, there was David and Jad Fair, two odd ball brothers who first took to making music in the late 70's. These guys were among the first pioneers in naive rock and took to becoming the greatest rock 'n' roll band on the planet before they even learned to play chords.
"Hello," the 2001 release retains the spirit and playful simplicity of albums predating this release by 20 years. Stand outs on the disc include the sensitive ballad "Red Sun" with lyrics that include "Heaven must have sent her/Heaven must have meant her for me/And who am I to fight with the judge/Who am I to argue with perfection." Exuberance and joy just fill me when listening to "Summer Nights," a song about love and good times in the summer.
Some songs get strange, such as the bouncing beats and the use of a duck call in "Jump into the Mess." After over 20 years of playing, Jad Fair still can not play a chord but the band has had a lasting influence on many popular bands today such as Sonic Youth and Pavement. Overall, I would have to say "Hello" is great. Each song on "Hello" is able to stand alone but the listener will also find joy in listening to album as a whole."

Half Japanese: Refined Retards?

charles Ives | New York, NY | 12/01/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jad Fair along with longtime bandmates John Sluggett, Jason Willett and Gilles Rieder somehow manage to keep evolving and stay fresh. While most bands that manage to make it to their their 13th release get repetitive, this band sounds better than ever and Jad continues to explore new visions of romantic love at its peakiest.
Paradoxically refined and retarded, they squirm out from under your thumb just when you think you've figured them out. It's one helluva entertaining album and highly listenable by any standards, even to those who found their early stuff to be rough listening (refer to Lester Bang's Guide To Horrible Noise). They surprise with lots of sonic interest and a stunning variety of approaches on Hello's 17 songs.
This record features sweet sounding natural instruments like thick Hammond organs, crystal pianos and lots and lots of guitars.
"And the Angels Said Go To Her" opens Hello with a laid back feel and goofy accents that suggest a musical game of leap frog.
"10 AM" is a wild punk-rock rocket ride with upside-yo'-head guitar explosions, guitar missile whistling sounds and a guitar 'solo' that sounds suspiciously like a broken guitar cable buzzing.
The gem, "Red Sun," is intimate, lovely and languid with sweet ringing guitars that collide with innocence. Actually, there are several fine sounding ballads here and on "No Doubt" you can hear Jad declaring his love (our love) "maple syrup pure." "Summer Nights" unpredictably mutates from teenage hand-holding purity into hideously tortured guitar tones, kinda wack-a-doo. While "Jump Into This Mess" conjures a funky bouncy hoedown groove, "Best of the Best" might have been Diamond Dogs' alien spawn with its crunchy circular guitar riff and hand claps. The ironically titled "Happyland" takes the record out with a crawly, ominous vibe and Sluggett's Dark Shadows piano echoes in the canyons of your mind after the record ends.
A couple of weaker tracks could have been omitted: "Our Turn" reworks the old Steam riff and not much happens, "Whatever The Outcome" actually sounds pretty good, like Echoes era Pink Floyd, but it's too sombre compared to the forward-looking vibe of the rest of the album.
As a whole, Hello is a very fine release. This time it shows that Half Japanese may be slightly touched, touched by genius too."