ELLEGARDEN - Salamander

Ellegarden is a band that sounds like your average radio-minded punk rock act, which is a very good thing for their career; it’s only a matter of time before they make it big over here. Takeshi’s awesome pronunciation skills make him sound like a native English speaker, almost guaranteeing success overseas in the near future.

•01 - Salamander
Palm muting leads into a great riff that actually manages to stay technical as opposed to falling into the punk rock traps you’d expect out of this outfit. If you’re new to Ellegarden, get ready to be amazed. Think along the same lines as the first time you heard FAKE?’s English stuff before finding out about Ken’s background. I personally still can’t get over how easy it is to understand Takeshi. It’s great. What’s even better, though: the way he almost “meows” the chorus’ lyrics out. You’ll see what I mean.

A great tune that is worthy of headlining a single. Sure, there’s no solo present, but that is easily forgiven seeing as the genre hardly calls for them.

•02 - Lately
This riff is a lot more on the punk-rock side of things then Salamander’s. So is the song length, now that I think about it. Clocking in at a measly 2:36, one can only expect some excellent musicianship to make up for the short playing time. Luckily, the boys do not disappoint and deliver a strong piece that would make their peers proud. While the first track will gain respect from music aficionados, this one will definitely gain the band some new fans seeing as it is very commercial.

A good song that can win over a lot of new international fans. They should really do something with it.

•03 - Alternative Plans
Blink 182? No, no. Still Ellegarden. Fans of Lately should find solace in this one as well, seeing as it’s comprised of the same material they’ve grown to love. Yes, it is another song that can blow the speakers off North American high school students’ stereos. Punk rock riffage is omnipresent throughout and will snag head bangers that don’t usually do it to this kind of stuff (i.e. metalheads).

You can’t help but wonder how come these guys haven’t invaded our airwaves yet.

With a single like this, you just know Ellegarden is heading on the right track. Even if you don’t enjoy their material, it doesn’t take a rocket-scientist to see that the market is wide open for these guys. A noteworthy single that should turn non-believers into believers and water into wine.

This single was released in conjunction with the Doggy Bags DVD, which documents their SPACE SONIC TOUR FINAL at ZEPP TOKYO on March 3rd, 2006.