Peelander-Z
P-TV-Z (Chicken Ranch)What’s Peelander-Z if not a Saturday morning cartoon? The NYC-based, Japanese action-troupe lost nothing in translation during its early Ramones upbringing, and in that regard, its kiddie-aimed P-TV-Z – fully realized locally in a mere nine days – sounds like most Peelander-Z albums. Nonsensical, three-chord J-pop aimed at the inner child in every punk, P-TV-Z spazzes with a distinct East Austin filter. Riverboat Gamblers’ Mike Wiebe leads the charge on “Go! Rio,” Yvonne A. Lambert of the Octopus Project laces theremin atop “O! Sha! Re!,” and Australian Cattle God Bryan Nelson earns his credited role of “disgruntled engineer” in the bluesy “Hey! Tokyo!” Other highlights include scream-along anthem “No More Cavities” and “Red-Aka-Ika,” both of which are better than anything on the last few Shonen Knife discs. Leave the babysitter with the bonus DVD, which boasts five sugar rush videos, most notably the epic battle of “Ninja High Schooool” from 2003’s P-Bone Steak, and an additional 40-minutes of what could be interpreted as a tour documentary starring a puppet version of Peelander Yellow. Your kids will bounce off the walls. (Sunday, 1:40pm, Black stage)
This article appears in November 5 • 2010.