It’s been a while a since we last checked in on SHINDENTSU PRODUCTION, home agency of ELECTRIC HEARTS, the idols who broke onto the scene with paper bags on their heads and punk-pop songs in their hearts, and the now defunct scribble scritch, who might be gone, but left the world one very perfect pop nugget.
And as things quickly change in the scene, so it goes for the groups under this banner: Members have changed, groups have been reborn, and the Corona virus has pretty much left the idol industry struggling to maintain vital connections with their fanbase. With that in mind, SHINDENTSU has gifted us with a couple of videos to remind us that they’re still around, still care about their fans, and have every intention of coming out of this thing without missing a beat.
It pleases me to be joining the Team Homicidols ELECTRIC HEARTS Hype Train, a mere couple of months since the last time one of us got all doe-eyed about the gnarliest set of punk rock idols out of Osaka since the last most exciting thing to come out of that city’s incomparable scene, which honestly was probably at some point in the past half-year, that’s how it goes, except when Nagoya vomits out another killer project that goes all CRUSH KILL DESTROY on my heart. And I have to say that I’m glad that Chris and Brian brought them to our attention, because this is basically chika idol perfection and if I’m going to have to face the loss of both Zekkyou and BILLIE IDLE in the same year, then by the gods I do demand that the universe give us back more legit punk idols in return.
Anyway! It’s Thanksgiving and I got things to do. Enjoy!
“Beautiful Thunder” indeed; I’m pretty sure that guitar solo gets people pregnant
Have a great day today. And if Thanksgiving isn’t your thing or you live in a civilized country that is simply going about its business today, eat an oversized meal and then get in an argument with somebody you ostensibly love. It’s tradition.
HANAMUKE is the third idol act on the current SHINDENTSU PRODUCTION roster, the same agency that has won us over with the fabulous ELECTRIC HEARTSand the delightful scribble scritch! While we’ve been previously introduced to the other two acts, HANAMUKE have only been known to us over here at Homicidols in name only, so there’s been a bit of anxious anticipation to find out what they’re about…
All I’ve really known about them is that they’re a duo consisting of Yuni and Tsubra, and that they describe their music as “Underground Techno Idol”. Beyond that, I had nothing to speculate on regarding their musical sound until now…
So finally, in the tradition of previous SDP promo media, here’s a cool little low-budget video for you!
I sure do like it a lot! It’s all very familiar sounding but yet not so derivative that it feels like meatloaf again. It’s good, solid pop music that would lend itself well to dancing around your room or helping you survive the drudgery of a morning commute into work. It also sounds ripe for some fun extended remixes, so hopefully they’ll follow up on the underground techno spirit by letting the tracks be open to experimentation by amateur soundboard enthusiasts.
And as for the MV itself, it plays off nicely with a bit of a young Vanilla Beans sort of vibe, complete with lackadaisical choreography, retro dresses, and bob-cut wigs! And oh yes, bonus points for the robot dance moves at the 2:50 mark, you really can’t go wrong with that!
Obviously, with a limited amount of material and small following, the group still has room for growth ahead of them, but that’ll most certainly change in the months to come. Give em’ a chance and follow them so you can later brag that you knew about em’ early on!
Man, what is up with us?!? We’ve been gushing so much about how much we all love ELECTRIC HEARTS, (Which is 100% totally justifiable.) that we never really wrote a proper profile of their sister group, scribble scritch! I went back and searched the site, and while Daemon had the good taste and keen insight to include their “DROP”MV in a weekender back in August, there’s still no dedicated article to this damn near perfect punk-pop-idol outfit from Osaka, and that’s kind of unforgivable! (I’m blaming myself in this too.) Well, that ends ends today, buster!
Since we’re on the late bus with this, chances are mighty good that you may know these ladies already, and that’s great! But I also think some you haven’t, because I feel pretty certain you’d be ranting and raving at us for not covering them sooner because Holy Moses are they terrific.
As it stands at this exact moment, the group is a trio made up of Nina, Suzuna, and Erina, hailing from the Osaka area under the Shindentsu Production banner, which as mentioned before is also the agency that represents our favorite idol group with paper bags on their heads. (The agency also has a third group, and duo calledHANAMUKE, who we’re also watching out for.)
Musically…well, tell me to shut up and post the MV already!
ELECTRIC HEARTS, the purveyors of “FANTASTIC PUNK IDOL FROM OSAKA” are rapidly finding a place in our hearts with their speedy lo-fi punk rock and cheeky style. Chris first brought them up last month and they instantly earned a place on Team Homicidols’ radar as a group to watch.
It’s an interesting strategy to attempt to pull off another anonymous idol group, because while it’s very fun to see girls singing and dancing with paper bags on their heads, there’s a risk that comes with it due to the limitations it places on fan’s ability to connect and bond with the members. Just ask the Dot-chans about the challenges that come with that. I still wonder if ELECTRIC HEARTS will eventually un-bag themselves as their star rises in the idol world.
But the other side of the task is this: Without the more obvious ways to make to that wota/idol connection, the girls have to rely on good music and charasmatic attitude to reach out for new fans. Maybe that’s been their plan from the get-go, who knows? But to help advance the cult of the paper-bag idols, here’s a bunch of partial songs to check out. And you know what? They’re all great!!
Dig that buzzsaw guitar and the vocals on this track!
And here’s some pure pop goodness served under a layer of punk rock…
Also, I love these super-low budget preview videos! It’s about as DIY as ripping holes in a paper bag!
“Ballads? We got ballads!”
And here we’ve got “SKULL BOWES”, another punk-pop sing-along gem, this time accompanied with some highly sophisticated animation..
Dang, these are all pretty good, huh? I checked in on the group’s twitter account, and currently they’ve only got 153 followers…that’s criminal! Everybody who’s gotta soul should be dropping everything to lend their support (And maybe donate some paper goods!) to ELECTRIC HEARTS and their label mates scribble scritch. (Who have the best name for a group right now.)
You can still support those stuffy pretend-punk corporate idols if you want, that’s fine, but we’ve got the real deal right here, and certainly you can dedicate some time to them too. Paper or plastic?? I know what I prefer!
