Announce In-Store and Signing at Flashback, Shoreditch – June 2nd!
Live Dates
22nd May – Berlin (DE), Quasimodo
02 Jun: Flashback Records (Shoreditch), London, UK
“Jad Fair’s outsider unit return with an album that reflects their early days while taking the Half Japanese story into a new chapter” Record Collector
“Sixteen LPs in 39 years after debut, Maryland’s oddballs have a spring in their step.” MOJO
Half Japanese are Jad Fair, John Sluggett, Gilles-Vincent Rieder, Jason Willett and Mick Hobbs.
With Jad Fair at the helm for over four decades, the highly revered Half Japanese still remain “the ultimate expression of punk’s dictum that rock should be accessible to anyone who wanted to pick up an instrument and play” (AllMusic).
Born out of the Fair brother’s lo-fi bedroom recordings of the mid-70’s, they reinvented rock music with their off-kilter view and popular outsider rock. Leading the lo-fi movement of the early 90s burgeoning indie rock scene, Half Japanese’s lasting influence and prolific output has seen them experiment with alternate tunings, chords and melody and in recent years they’ve produced more cohesive offerings.
Wildly eccentric and humorous, the energetic ‘Hear The Lions Roar’ is an art rock record where Jad’s expertly thrown out lyrics remain optimistic and fresh alongside a fierce and compelling rhythm section. Featuring a cohort of past musicians from the 90’s, their dexterous instrumentation brings further depth to Jad’s songs.
The addition of guest musicians baritone horn player Lydia Fischer and cellist Sophie Bernadou brings more uplifting moments to the record including the title cut. ‘Attack Of The Giant Leeches’ and ‘The Preventers’ share an innocence that harks back to the band’s younger years when their songs were centred around horror movies, tabloids and women.
One of their finest albums to date and eighteenth full length studio album ‘Hear The Lions Roar’ is released 13th January 2017 on Fire Records. Line-up includes: John Sluggett (guitar, keys, timbales), Gilles-Vincent Rieder (drums, percussion, keys), Jason Willett (bass, keys), Mick Hobbs (guitar, glockenspiel) and Jad Fair (vox).
‘Hear The Lions Roar’ is out now on Fire Records.
Buy on Bandcamp
https://halfjapanesefire.bandcamp.com/album/hear-the-lions-roar
‘Attack Of The Giant Leeches’ video:
https://youtu.be/AL9EbzbncgI
