An Illustrated History

Puffy Amiyumi, “An Illustrated History” (Bar/None, 2002; original recordings 1996-2002)
They’d been toned down by the time they made it to America, but this Japanese pop duo’s ‘90s stuff, collected here, is mind-bogglingly inventive and effervescent. Mod, glitter, disco, new wave, Eurovision and more come together – sometimes in the same song! – in a big bubble-punk rush. If someone had put together a Top-40 band based on the stylistically wild construction principles of the Boredoms’ early work, it might have turned out like this, and for all I know, that’s what actually happened.
Try 2, 8, 11
4/4/11