Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Picky Picnic - Cynical Hysteria World 2x7" (Panic Records, 1986)

Tracklisting

Side A
Fanfare / どんぐり行進曲

Side B
It's a Hysterical Place
Tsuntapunk
びょうき

Side C
トリップ・サンドイッチ

Side D
Go Go Twins
(仮) 放課後

This group is often compared to the Residents, but I find their sonic palette to be idiosyncratically Japanese. The kindergarten-prog thing going on here sets them comfortably beside the avant-naïve stylings of their brethren in Wha-Ha-Ha, yet there's just enough of a punk aesthetic there to attach them to German label-mates Der Plan, Pyrolator, and the rest of the Ata Tak crew.

This double 7" EP (I believe it's their final release) sees the usual duo of Kaoru Todoroki and Yuji Asuka teamed up with famed animator/illustrator Kiriko Kubo, probably known best in the states for doing the album art for John Zorn's Cobra. It's a match made in heaven, really. In fact, a few of Kiriko's works have titles very similar to those of Picky Picnic (Cynical Hysterie Hour, Kuru Kuru Cynical), causing me to wonder just how close their relationship was. Sadly, Picky Picnic would disband shortly after this recording for reasons unknown.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for this. Any sign of the supposed 2nd LP by Picky Picnic, to which I have have only seen one or two brief references online?

c.patera said...

Are you referring to "Kuru Kuru World"? That's a CD-only release, and I think it's more of a compilation rather than a 2nd album. I'll have it soon, actually, so I'll upload it then!