Buttersprites CD Review
Bitch magazine, issue#30, Fall 2005
The first time I listened to Seattle's Buttersprites, I was on a shopping trip to Long's Drugs. "Love Call"-the most melodic song on their debut CD, featuring enchanting harmonies and a playful bassline-transformed the store into a fairyland. Everything seemed lovelier, even the wool duster I purchased.
Buttersprites serve up a dazzling blend of Japanese pop and good old-fashioned punk rock simmered to perfection; if you could eat this music, it would melt in your mouth. Vocalist Haruko Nishimura alternately shouts, coos and howls lyrics in both English and Japanese, for a mix that's both sweet and mischevious. But unlike most punk that's this poppy, Buttersprites is never overly saccharine. The band isn't hiding it's influences-covers here range from Altered Images' "Happy Birthday" to Iggy Pop's "Dog Food" and much of their delivery is tongue-in-cheek. Onstage their costumes range from spacegirl to milkmaid. The album art features all five dressed as nurses with elfish striped socks. It's the combination of extremes that seems to wink and invite you to listen more closely. When you finish the last song, you just want to go back to the beginning and start again. It's like peanut brittle-you can't eat just one piece. --- J.T.
Perfect for: Dancing alone in your kitchen.
Probably even better if: You understand Japanese.
