Peelander-Z

Given the liquid gyrations of their anime styling and the general sexual repression of their Japanese homeland, it just makes sense that a group of Japanese dudes would start a "Japanese action comic punk band" called Peelander-Z. But we hear you say, "Didn't Peelander-Z form in New York City?" Before...

By Jonathan McNamara

March 26, 2009

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Given the liquid gyrations of their anime styling and the general sexual repression of their Japanese homeland, it just makes sense that a group of Japanese dudes would start a "Japanese action comic punk band" called Peelander-Z. But we hear you say, "Didn't Peelander-Z form in New York City?" Before you get a rope, understand that despite their city of origin, they couldn't be any more Nihon. Setting aside the fact that dress like super sentai (just as color-coordinated and wacked-out as the most over-the-top Power Rangers outfits) and their tendency to engage in human bowling or chair-throwing wrestling during their sets, take a listen to tracks like "So Many Mike" or "Happee Pee" and all will be clear. "Happee Pee," in particular, is sung completely in Japanese, ending one verse with boku wa tensai ("I am a genius") and another with boku wa hentai da ("I am a pervert"). Like The Polysics, Maximum the Hormone, and Shonen Knife, Peelander-Z is all about high-intensity punk antics. So don your own single-color superhero duds and fight oversize squid monsters with these pretty punks from Planet Peelander as they beam down to Trunk Space.

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