Nippon Girls, Vol. 2: Japanese Pop, Beat & Rock 'n' Roll 1965-70

A companion to Ace/Big Beat's 2009 Nippon Girls collection, Nippon Girls, Vol. 2: Japanese Pop, Beat & Rock 'n' Roll is the equal to its predecessor, digging up 24 aggressively stylish tracks cut in the back half of the '60s. There may be a temptation to dismiss this as the province of camp, both in its creation and Western consumption, but Nippon Girls, Vol. 2 feels fresh due to familiar elements shuffled around and reassembled in startling ways. This is nearly cut-and-paste pop, with go-go beats married to call-and-response vocals, a slow jazz vamp that takes a sudden sunshine pop detour on the chorus, surf rock given a diva makeover, a Sir Douglas Quintet number that suddenly gets drenched in fuzz -- any number of unexpected combinations derived from these Japanese musicians' passion for American pop. Appropriately, any adventurous listeners with a thirst for the swinging sound of the '60s would be advised to give this comp a spin. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine