MELT-BANANA 8th Album "3 + 5" out on August 23rd 2024

Melt-Banana will be releasing their first album in over a decade this summer.

Tracklist:

  1. Code
  2. Puzzle
  3. Case D
  4. Stopgap
  5. Scar
  6. Flipside
  7. Hex
  8. Whisperer
  9. Seeds

From the product page on Midheaven:

Presenting 3+5, the long-awaited eighth album from Tokyo-based noise-rockers Melt-Banana on their own A-Zap label!

The album showcases the duo’s visionary musical approach and extraordinary abilities as performers: Yasuko Onuki’s giddy, hyperactive vocalizing and Ichiro Agata’s glitchy, cyberpunk guitar, delivered at dizzying speed, bathed in aggressive electronic sounds. Their aesthetic approach is exultantly experimental, fusing diverse genres imbued with chaotic energy. As on their previous works, the music on 3+5 is unpredictable, always filled with surprises and excitement.

3+5 synthesizes elements of a variety of extreme musics, hyper-pop, classic punk, vintage metal, and noise. It partakes of Japanese culture overall, especially the subcultures of gaming, anime and underground music.

Melt-Banana seek to offer possibilities to musicians who won’t start a band if they can’t find a drummer, young women afraid to express themselves in their own unfiltered and unique voices, bedroom musicians and egg punks seeking to blend electronic noise with live instrumentation. 3+5 provides a fresh experience and perhaps inspiration for all.

While Melt-Banana hasn’t explicitly explained the meaning behind the album’s title, 3+5, prime numbers symbolize mathematical integrity and independence, which could represent the band’s uniqueness and freedom. Why “3+5” and not “1 + 7”? One is left to ponder.

They’re calling it the 8th album, so which of their previous eight albums doesn’t count?

4 Likes

Always an interesting listen so am curious to see what unpredictable madness is coming here.

Ooooh awesome, can’t wait!

btw @blacktooth it looks like they’re not counting “Cactuses Come in Flocks” (according to the announcement video). Their wiki also says that apparently they refer it to as their “1&½nd album” for some reason, lol.

Wow they’re still around, that’s cool.

2 Likes

Yeah! Theyre still pretty active on the live circuit, have seen them 3 or 4 times in recent years.