"We don't really have any band that we're influenced by, but I guess we all like to listen to any bands that you can tell were inspired by The Beatles ..." OK, stop that quote right there! Iris, singer and guitarist with new Tokyo band Salt Water Taffy, has name-dropped The Beatles and, um, that's boring. How many times have I heard that one before?!
But, hold on a second, her point is that she just loves a good melody, can't get enough of great tunes. And she's not really talking about The Beatles.
No, this is no garage band of '60s or '70s revivalists. They might be retro, but they don't sound like the The Small Faces, The Stooges or The Strokes, thank God. There are enough bands doing that already. Instead, think The Primitives, Teenage Fanclub and The Apples in Stereo. What all those bands have in common is that they don't have to scream to get their message across or wear hip clothes to show they're cool. They just let great pop tunes do the shouting for them. How rare in these nu-metal and garage-punk times -- and how bloody refreshing. It's like the glass of water the morning after a pint of vodka the night before.