NOTIFICATION OF RELEASE: Kawaguchi Masami's New Rock Syndicate Cat vs. Frog LP

After the resounding success of our debut release (The Stumps' Split Fleet Dodge), Palindrone Recordings are proud to announce our second release, and the debut LP by Kawaguchi Masami's New Rock Syndicate, Cat vs. Frog (PALP002).

Kawaguchi Masami is a Japanese guitar monster* who has done time in Miminokoto, LSD March, and Broomdusters, and played with Keiji Haino for a time. This, his new band, also features bassist Akira Kikuchi and drummer Nao Shibata (Hijokaidan, Doodles). A track by New Rock Syndicate featured on the recent PSF compilation Tokyo Flashback vol. 6.

The new album is titled Cat vs. Frog and clocks in at around 40 min. It's exceptional wailing, burning garage psych-rock grounded in Kawaguchi’s trademark heartbreakingingly melancholic emotional intensity, instantly-hummable, head-nodding toe-tapping riffs and melodies and unavoidably air-guitaring white light, white heat guitar solos.

Cat vs. Frog is pressed on white vinyl, in an edition of 500. The cover art (by German artist Sandra Schmidt) is entitled "OMS, involved in a battle".

There’s a battle going on all right; it’s the eternal battle for the rockin’ hearts and psychedelic souls of all mankind. Led by heroes such as Masami, the good will surely prevail over the evils of second-rate pap.

* according to Mason Jones; however we concur 100%

Praise for MASAMI KAWAGUCHI:

-- Miminokoto carved a niche for themselves as they pushed the VU meters (and comparisons) both with heavy duty guitar excess and almost-poppy punk jangle. Kawaguchi's new trio carries on the tradition, with a variety of sound from all-out psych overload to more relatively restrained fare (Mienakunaru) and the (mostly) gentle balladry of Everything Is, wherein everything is aching with misery. None are untouched by the shrapnel coming off of Kawaguchi's six string, though, which is definitely a forced to be reckoned with on the final track, Tottemo, with more than enough distortion and feedback and destructiveness to give you Tokyo Flashbacks for weeks...

-- With weary vocals of which maybe even Jandek would be proud, Miminikoto can create a sense of sadness which makes Kawaguchi's howling guitar, when it kicks in, all that much more cathartic. They also aren't afraid of some poppy jangle too, so you're never sure what's around the corner. From track to track, one cut might be a punked out stormer, the next a gentle web of fragile notes. [both excerpted from reviews on the aQuarius Records website]

Taster

For a preview of two of the tracks on Cat vs. Frog, please visit this previous post: Listen to some PALP002 Cat vs. Frog. Or, listen to New Rock Syndicate at their Myspace page.

Distribution

Cat vs. Frog will be available to distributors at wholesale rates. If you’re interested in purchasing copies of this LP for your distribution, please contact Stephen Clover. More details are contained in the one-sheet for the release [92KB PDF].