Sometimes I feel stupid reviewing rock music. Intellectualizing a band whose only real goal is to have fun can seem pointlessly belligerent. And really, that's what DMBQ (formerly Dynamite Masters Blues Quartet) are all about: Having fun, and rocking out as hard as they can. Us lowly reviewers are left to approximate such a group's sound with hopes that you, the reader, might check them out. Luckily, DMBQ find themselves in the midst of a niche genre, which makes my job a whole lot easier. The most obvious comparison point for the band is a host of mid-'70s rockers (think Hawkwind/Deep Purple on acid... or, uh, more acid than they were already on). While the Dynamite Masters love to kick out the 4/4 jams, they have also adopted a more rugged, psychedelic take on those huge, Bonham-esque stompers. Mirroring the modern Japanese psych/rock scene's aesthetic abandon, nearly every song on The Essential Sounds From the Far East seems moments away from falling apart completely. The rhythm section is absolutely insane; a far cry from the bombastic stability of most '70s rock groups, it recklessly scrambles around an otherwise traditional base of psychedelic blues. On the drums, exotic temptress (read: Japanes woman) China breaks into disorienting sixteenth note fills at the drop of a dime, directing the music's tempo and flow to shaky heights. Perhaps most notable though, is the voice of Shinji Masuko. His guttural yelps are painfully Japanese, even when trying to impersonate his American forefathers. I'm going to go out on a limb here and call his lyrical antics endearing and pretty humorous, too. Masuko only reaffirms a common belief that balls-out rock music is best heard with a grain of salt. And even if being funny isn't DMBQ's real intent, every time one of their killer riffs or gravity-defying drum fills blasts through my speakers, I can't help but grin.
1. She Walks
2. Taste
3. Mo-Ya Mo-Ya
4. Nowhere
5. Mirror Baby
6. Dm
7. Nothing
8. Swamp King
9. Happening
10. Are You Satisfied?
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