Taiho “Chugalug” CD

I'm short on time as always, so here's another band that I know very little about. Taiho is a Japanese trio and has released at least three full-lengths, but "Chugalug" was released in 1999 and I haven't heard a damn peep about the band ever since. Part of that's because Howling Bull's American division slowly started to disappear shortly after this thing hit the streets, and it always seems to be pretty rough to find information on Japanese acts as it is, so... who knows? Whether or not the band is still active is beyond me, and I couldn't even tell you if they've done another record in the last six years either. What I can tell you is that this CD cranks out 12 tracks in 30 minutes and throws down a shitload of thick, sludgy, quirky rock type stuff that's heavy on the energetic vocal tradeoffs and crunchy rhythms that mess with everything from thrashy picking patterns and funky slap bass to grinding crossover chord progressions and Helmet-esque odd time signatures with lots of dissonant post-hardcore textures. It's damn good stuff, basically—and complete with an onslaught of classic "Engrish" lyrics (just check out the post title).

Taiho "Past"
Taiho "Breathe"
Taiho "Chugalug"
Taiho "Gnat"

I've never been able to find any of their other records, and like I said, information is scarce, so speak up if you know anything. These cats were underappreciated on American shores, so you can often find this thing for cheap as shit all over the place:

Amazon.com
Half.com

Yo, if you didn't download the Leeway tracks, do it. Seriously, we're talking one of the 10 best NYHC bands of all time, people... show some love!

Oh, and my bandwidth was dangerously close to its limit last month for the first time ever, having more than doubled since July, so... be aware that I might start removing songs faster than I have been. You snooze, you lose!