PIZZICATO FIVE - MADE IN USA

Pizzicato Five is a Japanese band who gained some success in the USA when some of their songs appeared on soundtracks and in TV shows. I first heard them in the movie, "Ready To Wear" a Robert Altman film. 'Twiggy Twiggy' is played during Issey Miyake's fashion show. I really like the sound of the tune and eventually tracked down the group.

The sound of this band is retro but in an interesting way. If you take pop music from the sixties hipster scene and released brand new material today you'd have this band. Other groups have done similar things mostly using the style and imagery of this time period with new music. Bands like Deee-lite and The Chemical Brothers, but though those other groups only incorporate elements of the 60s sound, Pizzicato Five blend it completely with modern equipment to make something new and innovative.

There are lots of great tracks on this disc, which isn't surprising when you consider it's actually a compilation of their previous Japanese releases. Each track is fairly strong and catchy. If not avant garde. 'I' musically sounds like a French street musician standing beside an outdoor cafe playing the accordion for Francs. 'Sweet Soul Revue' captures the musical feel of the Motown era. My favorite tracks are 'Catchy', 'Twiggy Twiggy' and 'Magic Carpet Ride'.

I've never been a huge fan of modern Asian culture. Anime, Manga, Retro Bands... But for some reason, I really dig what this band accomplished. I was disappointed to hear they'd broken up. I'd have liked to see them in concert. Irregardless, this is a group worth checking out. It good clean fun for the whole family. My final word: NIFTY.

PIZZICATO FIVE - MADE IN USA
01. I
02. Sweet Soul Revue
03. Magic Carpet Ride
04. Readymade FM
05. Baby Love Child
06. Twiggy Twiggy/Twiggy Vs. James Bond
07. This Years Girl #2
08. I Wanna Be Like You
09. Go Go Dancer
10. Catchy
11. Peace Music