In Conversation With #162 - Japan Review
Glasgow-based noise-pop band Japan Review have been through numerous incarnations in their relatively short existence. Now a duo made up of Genna Foden and Adam O’Sullivan, they have just released their debut album, Kvetch Sounds via Reckless Yes. They took a moment to talk to us about how the album came together.
Hey there Japan Review, how are you? So your debut is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
GEN: It feels great that it’s finally out there yeah, and relief. It feels like it’s been a long time in the making, what with the pandemic and then the double whammy of Brexit chaos and how that’s affected independent labels. I think it’s quite a bold debut and we hope that people will like it.
ADAM: It did kinda feel like we were making a record as the world was ending, and I think Reckless Yes were a bit surprised when we sent them a finished album out of the blue, but it's been great fun so far and long may it continue.
It is titled ‘Kvetch Sounds’ - does that have a certain meaning behind it?
ADAM: The honest answer is that we don’t really know. All the lyrics from the record are compiled from words or phrases written down at some point or other. ‘Kvetch Sounds’ was written in a book, and caught my eye. I was listening to and reading about The Beach Boys a lot at the time, so it's not much of a stretch to think that it’s a little reference to Pet Sounds.
GEN:The word Kvetch means to complain persistently and we liked the idea of this sort of representing some of the more dissonant synths on the album.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
ADAM: We started writing it late 2019 and got on a roll pretty quickly. We were in the middle of recording when the pandemic hit - which gave us some time to really focus on getting it right. Our producer Alex helped us make sense of our ideas, he lives in Canada now, so luckily the lockdown has given us some good file sharing practice in preparation for album two.
GEN: It was recorded where we lived in Crouch End. We’d bought a new synth and drum machine and threw ourselves into experimenting and crafting the songs around the instruments. The songs themselves are written and structured by Adam, but we develop them sonically together. We’ve a vague idea of the direction when we start recording but we try to push them until they almost break. The end of the song ‘Kvetch Sounds’ is just a mess of arpeggiators improvised over each other in a single take with no edits, but I think it’s my favourite part of the album.
What are the key themes and influences on the album?
GEN: We definitely wanted to introduce a more electronic sound and be experimental with it. We were listening to a lot of Broadcast, Thom Yorke and Stereolab which encouraged us to be bold and think differently about the way we were approaching the songs.
ADAM: The electronic thing was definitely front of mind, but I definitely think about an album more in terms of sets of songs that use the same colour palette. Our friend Lara Clarke Wardle did the artwork which we really think captures the record.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the album? If so, which one and why?
GEN: From the single Kvetch Sounds.
“I guess it meant something
To somebody
But we didn’t mean to be wrong again”.
ADAM: I’ve no idea what these songs are really about and I wrote them. That’s not to say they aren’t about anything but I was much more conscious of the sounds of the words rather than the literal meaning - and only a bit of editing was used after improvising words and basically pulling them out of a hat to fit the melody. It’s almost like automatic writing where things are more abstract or subconscious. It’s a really rewarding process - like making a collage, which allows us to focus on the atmosphere of the songs. I think if I tried to write a song about a train or dog it would be rubbish.
Now the album is out there - what next for you?
GEN: We’ll be back playing live and are planning a wee tour for March which is coming together slowly. Our second record is pretty nearly done too, so we’ve put plenty of time aside for that. We’re also working on a separate electronic project called The News Channel so I guess we’ll be as busy as ever.
ADAM: We’ve spent enough time in doors, so we’re pretty keen to get out and play for whoever will have us really.