Few bands are better placed than R&B revivalists Bawdies to ride the current Showa Boom. Listening to this second album from the mod-attired Toyko four-piece — leader Ryo “Roy” Watanabe (bass/vocals), Taku “Taxman” Funayama (guitar/vocals), Yoshihiko “Jim” Kimura (guitar/vocals) and Masahiko “Marcy” Yamaguchi (drums/vocals) — and it’s like the past four-and-a-half decades never happened: “My Little Joe” swaggers like The Stones’ “It’s All Over Now”; “I’m in Love with You” sees Watanabe doff his mop-top in the direction of Cavern Club-era Beatles; and slowie “I’m So Lost Without You” reaches for the exalted highs of Sam Cooke’s “Bring it all Home to me” (and almost gets there).
So far, so retro.
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