Overdrive

Overdrive is the 19th studio album by Japanese pop punk trio Shonen Knife. It was released on April 14, 2014 in Europe, and on April 16, 2014 in Japan. According to band leader Naoko Yamano, because their album Free Time (2010) was heavily influenced by punk rock, and Pop Tune (2012) had explored a more pop-oriented sound, Overdrive was a chance for the band to explore a more hard rock sound. The album's lyrics cover a wide array of topics, from green tea, fortune cookies, and cats. The CD album artwork was created by Masahiko Ohno; three different color variations were released, with each corresponding to either Japan, North America, or Europe. The album received moderately positive reviews from critics, with many applauding the band's dabbling in more harder rock, whereas others were critical of its musical and lyrical simplicity. Production While Shonen Knife's usual sound is Ramones-inspired pop punk, the band branched out musically and listened to harder rock bands for Overdrive, such as such as Bad Company, Black Sabbath, Boston, Deep Purple, The Doobie Brothers, Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, and ZZ Top—for inspiration. IAmTunedUp.com described the album's sound as a combination of "edgy guitar riffs with psychedelic 70s-esque enchanting nostalgia". Naoko Yamano reasoned that because Free Time (2010) was heavily influenced by punk rock, and Pop Tune (2012) explored a more pop-oriented sound, Overdrive represented an opportunity for the band to explore harder rock. Because of the band's exploration, the album's name references the overdrive pedal, which, in Yamano's mind, conjured up images of 1970s rock music. In an interview with 100PercentRock.com, Yamano explained that her process for writing and recording has not changed substantially since the band's early days: "I’m lazy and I don’t start writing songs until we book recording studio , but once we booked the studio, I can write songs quickly with concentration. Then I send my demo to our members and we rehearse. At the recording studio, we start to record from basic tracks then overdub." On this album, every member of the band also sings a unique song about a food item; Yamano sings "Fortune Cookie", the band's bassist Ritsuko Taneda lends her vocals to "Ramen Rock", and drummer Emi Morimoto can be heard on "Green Tea".