Polysics

The first thing you notice about the Japanese new wave band Polysics are the glaring similarities to Devo. The most obvious of which are the band’s matching orange jump suits and their straight-bar sunglasses. Of course, the similarities aren’t completely unintentional. Back in 1997, when founding member of Polysics, Hiroyuki...

By Mike Escoto

January 28, 2010

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The first thing you notice about the Japanese new wave band Polysics are the glaring similarities to Devo. The most obvious of which are the band’s matching orange jump suits and their straight-bar sunglasses. Of course, the similarities aren’t completely unintentional. Back in 1997, when founding member of Polysics, Hiroyuki Hayashi, was still in high school he saw footage of Devo and was greatly inspired by the band and other new wave originals. And while Polysics do draw a lot of inspiration from Devo they are definitely not just another Devo clone. The band has nailed down the synth pop styling of new wavers before them but Polysics are a bit more tongue in cheek than their predecessors. With their oddball lyrics and cartoonish sound effects it is not much of a surprise that success has managed to escape them here in the states. But Polysics aren’t about to stop trying just yet. The group signed to MySpace records back in 2007 and are hoping the once king of social-networking’s record label will have the right marketing plan to get their upcoming album, Absolute Polysics, to the masses.
Wed., Feb. 3, 8 p.m., 2010

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