Japanese Voyeurs

Japanese Voyeurs are set to make a name for themselves following the release of their first album ‘Yolk’. The London based act have been described by BBC journalist Mike Haydock as ‘Raw, aggressive and intelligent’, something that cannot be argued with.

The band consists of Steve Wilson on drums, Tom Lamb on guitar, Johnny Seymour on bass, Rikki Waldron on keyboards, and the undisputable vocal ability of Romily Alice.

‘Yolk’ fuses together elements of traditional grunge, and adds in the sweet, girly, and almost pop like vocals of Alice, to create something reminiscent of (although slightly heavier than)  Hole, The Cardigans, and No Doubt.

The band’s persistent instrumental heaviness, mixed with Alice’s light and bubbly vocals make for an interesting and unusual concoction. However, although generally sweet sounding, the power of her voice cannot be underestimated: Alice demonstrates her ability to go from pop princess to scream queen in a heartbeat. Think less Shirley Temple, and more Shirley Manson.

Tracks on ‘Yolk’ such as ‘You’re So Cool’, and ‘Milk Teeth’ really emphasise Alice’s similarities to 90’s grunge and alternative rock queens Gwen Stefani, Courtney Love, and Nina Persson.

The band is currently touring with rock heavyweight and all round legend Slash, on the British leg of his tour. This may seem like an unusual pairing; however Japanese Voyeurs’ sound does bare resemblance to a lot of Velvet Revolver’s bootleg, so the two acts compliment each other nicely.

For fans of Alice In Chains, Tool, and Garbage, Japanese Voyeurs are a band to look out for. Wailing and distortion galore, ‘Yolk’ is an innovative album, which will hopefully resuscitate the seemingly dying art of grunge.

Personal favourite tracks: ‘Milk Teeth’ and ‘X-Ray Ted’.

Erin Woods