Half Japanese
Why Not?

THE REVIEW

Here are the Half Japanese by Jad Fair again, an artist who manages to communicate through images in a manner as simple as a child who, not yet possessing the necessary techniques, paints a house or people on a blank sheet, creating abstract works with powerful expressive force. As he 'messes around,' he stains and dirties himself with paint so much that he becomes a kind of artwork himself. Few artists like him can express themselves in such a spontaneous and easy way, with always brilliant insights that combine garage experimentation and pop music.

'Why Not?' (Fire Records) reintroduces the typical imagery of Jad Fair with abstract compositions and references to a certain elementary horror and science fiction cinematography of the fifties, of which, of course, he captures the most ironic aspects. The music and lyrics have that same sense of immediacy and expressive urgency that has been a characteristic of the Half Japanese project since its beginnings and is an expression of the contemporary age where things happen more rapidly than our speed of thought. The band's lineup remains confirmed (John Sluggett, Gilles-Vincent Rieder, Mick Hobbs, and Jason Willett), and 'Why Not?' is an album with mostly easy-listening and pop-garage sounds ('The Future Is Ours', 'The Face', 'Why Not?', 'Demons of Doom', 'Zombie Island Massacre'...), highlighting the more peculiar tracks like the psychedelic pop ballads 'Amazing' and 'Better Days', the boogie of 'A World to the Wise', the ambient space of 'Spaceship To Mars', the 'Sgt Pepper' echoes in 'Why'd They Do It?' and 'Failing'.

Regarding 'Hear The Lions Roar,' Jad explained to me that the album was a response to Donald Trump's election and a call to recognize the power of love and let it become central to making our choices. 'Why Not? similarly revisits the same concept: it's an album full of love and positive feelings that invites the listener to marvel at all the beautiful things that surround us. Just as if we were children, trying to let ourselves go to the beauty of things, and for once in our lives, instead of asking why, we should ask why not.