Sugar-Rush Pop-Punk From Shonen Knife

And now for this month’s underground cult object: Shonen Knife, three cute Japanese girls wearing red satin dresses with black fringe and smiling brighter than the rising sun during their “only appearence in the Western Hemisphere!” as their American mentor, punk promoter/producer Bill Bartel, exclaimed while introducing the band at the Second Coming club Saturday night.

So what if they barely play their instruments and sing about as well as Pink Lady? The pluck of these poppy punk princesses was enough to elicit demonstrations of adulation as the trio charged like Gigantor on a sugar rush through “I Like Chocolate Bar,” before lunging into a squeaky-clean version of “I Like Public Bath.” Any feeling that there’s a sexist, even racist subtext in jaded underground scenesters’ exploiting the charms of three sweet but barely competent Asian female rockers was overcome by the group’s feckless innocence and determined garage-band fervor. Shonen Knife’s cutting edge is in providing a joyous celebration of the virtues of ineptitude.