Review: Can someone explain to me why POLYSICS hasn’t taken over the world yet? This quartette has all the key elements needed to launch a mass campaign whose sole intent would be the conquering of the international music scene, leaving all those who would oppose them in a bloody wake of rhythmic madness, yet I’m guessing you’ve probably never even heard of them. Ahead of their time I say. So, what do they sound like you ask? They’ve seriously covered all the bases here. If you want something to dance to, they’ve got you covered. If you want something that rocks, they’ve got you covered. If you want something quirky and original, yet oddly reminiscent of a certain 80’s new wave group, *cough*devo*cough*, then they have met all the criteria necessary to have you dancing and bobbing your head to your heart’s content.

These folks have been kicking around since 1997, paying their dues by working Japan’s intricate underground music scene. Truly inspired by Devo, a band he’s quoted as greatly admiring, Hayashi (the bands founder, lead vocalist, and guitarist) began as a one man programming band but over the years he’s assembled the perfect group consisting of himself and his female counterparts Kayo and Fumi, two extremely cute young ladies with hair that easily resembles a cross between soft serve ice cream and your favorite Princess Leia hair-do.

With the inception of their first DVD, DVDVPVDVLIVE!!, the band has offered us not only a concert disc, but a compilation of their finest music videos giving us an even deeper glimpse into the playfully demented minds of these “new-new wavers”. To call the visuals found in these music videos quirky would be an understatement. You’ve got everything from disgruntled Kaiju robots to lunch ladies with obsessive compulsive disorder who have talking wounds in their hands. If your interests don’t fall into one of those two categories then something is horribly wrong with this world and our readers.

The live performance is nothing short of exhilarating. We’ve got one of Japan’s most high energy bands blowing the roof off of small venue packed to the gills with bouncing boys and girls. What more could you ask for? Well, I’ll tell you what I would’ve liked. I’m quite partial to concert disc that show the event in its entirety, this one does not. I’m not entirely sure that all the footage is even from the same date. That’s ok I guess but it one can really get a grasp of what it would be like to be there when there’s all the little pauses between numbers and the occasional addressing of the crowd. Oh well, with this band I’ll take what I can get.

Something I’ve got to take the time to mention is how great the on stage presence is for each member of the band. They’ve all got their own distinct personality and it shows through in the slightest ways. Hayashi, being the front man, is like an exploding firecracker of awkward movements while Kayo acts like a beautiful fembot, karate chopping her keyboard all the while. Fumi falls somewhere between the two since her duties go back and forth between rocking the bass guitar and tickling the ivories. The drummer, whose membership in the band I’m not entirely sure about, seemed slightly uninterested in the whole thing. I’ve seen drummers like that before though.

If you’re looking for something a little different from all of the sickly sweet pop Japan’s been churning out lately but you still desire something with a keen pop sensibility then you may want to give this disc a shot. If you’re a fan of the band then what the hell are you waiting for? That should cover just about everyone who will ever read this.