Here is yours truly's own take on Melt-Banana/Melt-Banana Lite/Whatever the hell they need to call themselves:
There's just a touch of sarcasm in there because, well, Melt-Banana is an interesting band. I'm not going to play nice and ignore the fact that their music consists of incoherent screaming over abrasive, oft-unlistenable metal riffs and experimental synthesizers. While it's a weird little formula, it sounds kind of disastrous. Also, this is Arizona, a decidedly Red State -- one of which to prominently feature a Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill (he named his restaurant using a sentence!) Sometimes that combination doesn't quite play to certain crowds out here.Japanese noise-rockers Melt-Banana made their name by shucking convention to the curb and recording loud, abrasive music employing heavy, screeching guitar riffs with experimental electronic music. That formula, while adored by their fans, was often criticized for not translating well in a recorded format. Their live shows, however, became a thing of legend, often packed with crowds eager to hear the purest, unfiltered form of what makes Melt-Banana so unique. The band tours extensively, often choosing the U.S. and U.K. over their native Japan, a move the band attributes to the high cost of touring in their homeland. Japan's loss is America's gain, however, as the 2009 version of Melt-Banana includes "Melt-Banana Lite," a version of the band with drums and vocals, yet no guitars. Filling in for the guitars will be samples and synths, proving Melt-Banana is constantly evolving as a band, introducing new, even more offbeat styles for their notoriously loud and frenetic live shows. So if you like your Japanese noise-rock with synths instead of guitars and mind-boggling, incoherent vocals - I know I sure do - then join the party and get your eardrums shattered by Japan's ambassadors of rejected normalcy, Melt-Banana.
