 Boyracer/Kanda Limited-edition split tour CD of covers by two lo-fi noise-pop bands of dubious ability. Normally I like anything with female vocals and slack instrumentation, but in this case it's not clear whether anyone involved can actually play or sing. Boyracer fares a bit better than Kanda with an approach that applies a Ciccone Youth guitar-muck to a basic girl-group sensibility (they even cover "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" by the Shangri-La's), though the results are definitely for hardcore fans only (are there hardcore Boyracer fans?). Kanda has more of a synth-pop orientation and covers more well-known songs ("I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend," "Feel Like Makin' Love," "Freedom" by Wham, "Chapel of Love," "I Think We're Alone Now," and a truly atrocious "Get Ready") … they fail at pretty much every turn. This disc really got on my nerves. I'd rather listen to Kim Gordon peeing.
Review by Julian Anderson |