Artist: Tuesday in Japan
Album: WasItACarOrCatISaw
Year: 2018
Hometown: Surrey, British Columbia
Tuesday in Japan are an electronic noisecore duo that blend elements of classic punk, thrash metal, hardcore, and electronically produced blast-beats. Tugging the strings between the sombre, clean vocals of female vocalist Lucky Sabharwai and the agonizing screech of guitarist/producer Troy Ounce, Tuesday in Japan’s newest effort WasItACarOrACatISaw is a chaotic mixture of intense subtleties.
“Tomorrow,” the most straightforward and traditional of the five track record, opens the album with a melancholic tale of someone who may have had enough. This garage-punk tune is almost the black sheep of the album, totally different from everyone else in the family due to its simplicity in comparison.
The second song, “Alien Love,” showcases electronic elements within a heavy-metal atmosphere. It’s a lyrical romance that bounces between the signature stylings of vocal softness versus aggression shared between the band's two members, a real-life couple.
“Bucket of Robotic Rats” follows suit to the electro-metal noise-rock vibes of the previous track. It’s a haunting offering that suggests the end of human civilization after the robotic uprising. The duo self produced an animated music video.
The title track “WasItACarOrCatISaw,” strangely enough, somehow cohesively manages to mix a hip-hop-like beat and vocal hook with a Slayer-esque riff assault. It’s short on words, only repeating the phrase “Was it a car or cat I saw?” Regardless, it's still a great tune that packs a punch.
The final song, “Pew Pew Pew” is a grungy, noisy, slosh of a tune. Similarly to the previous track, it vocally repeats the line “I’ll exterminate my haters like” followed by a clever musical addition of laser-like “pews.” The lo-fi outro serves as a nice end to the piece.
Overall “WasItACarOrACatISaw” is a showcase in audio experimentation and exploration. It’s like a pie that is made of all the pies. Cherry, pumpkin, lemon meringue, it doesn’t matter, you’ll still pick it up, take a blissful whiff, and smash it into someone’s face.
It may not be something that the folks at home would want their kids to listen to, but then again, neither was punk rock. For an album literally made at home, it shows bright potential for the young duo.