Sanhose - π Japanese Cassette

Snuffy Smiles (2015)

I had already discussed the music on π Japanese back when I reviewed the CD version of this album a couple of months ago.  You can read that here, but to briefly recap, this is a sterling example of a Japanese punk rock band putting out a record on Snuffy Smiles.  Fast, catchy and just one of my favorite strains of melodic punk rock music.

Despite my typical aversion to cassettes, the real reason I needed to get this on top of already owning the CD version really just comes down to the matrix number used.  Snuffy Smiles has 2 matrixes that they use: SMILE-xxx for CDs and SNUFF-xxx for 7"s and LPs.  While I do not quite have a complete collection of Snuffy Smiles CDs, I do have all of the 7"s, all one hundred and thirty something so far.  When this cassette was released, Snuffy Smiles used the SNUFF-131 matrix number and that meant there was sort of a hole in my 7" collection.

I realize that probably doesn't make a ton of sense.  Sure, I'm not actually missing a 7" but just having that gap in the numerical order drove me crazy.  Luckily the Dead Broke Rekerds distro restocked this tape, so I picked it up and once again the collection is complete.  At least until the next batch of 7"s.

Sanhose - π Japanese CD

Snuffy Smiles (2015)

I've said it before and I'll say it every time I have the chance to write about something that comes out on this record label.  It's still a thrill all these years later to get a new Snuffy Smiles record in the mail.  They've been my favorite label for quite some time and you can just always count on them.  I feel like it's been a while since they had released a new full length CD, though I suppose they may have put out a CD version of some of the recent vinyl full lengths that they have co-released with various other labels these past few years.

Coming off the heels of a pretty killer 7", I had high hopes for Sanhose this time out.  For the most part my hopes were met and surpassed.  They are a quintessential 90's Snuffy Smile band with fast paced punk songs with poppy choruses.  Sanhose are at their most effective when they slow things down just a hair as some of the songs are just so damn fast they whiz right by.  But when the tempo is dialed down from insane to merely breakneck, this record is a lot of fun.  

I'm reminded a lot of the faster moments of The Urchin with a hint of Cigaretteman, particularly when the female backing vocals kick in here and there.  As a Snuffy Smiles release goes, it's pretty much right where it needs to be.  

The one thing that bothers me is the matrix number.  It is Smile 58 - which is fine, that's how all of the CDs are numbered.  However there's apparently a cassette version of this that uses the SNUFF- matrix code, the numbering typically used for the 7"s that Snuffy Smiles releases.  So now my complete Snuffy Smiles 7" collection has a missing matrix number for a cassette that I can't find.  If you've got the heads up on where I can snag one of those, please let me know.