ADOLESCENT SEX

"Adolescent Sex" is the debut full-length studio album by UK rock/New wave act Japan. The album was released through Hansa Records in March 1978. The title of the album was changed to "Japan" in some countries to avoid issues as a consequence of the original album title.

Stylistically the material is a combination of many different music styles and influences. Glam rock (David Bowie is an influence), art rock (Roxy Music is a huge influence), funk, reggae, punk, and pop and electronic music. It´s therefore a highly eclectic affair and it was obviously recorded by a very young and immature band who hadn´t yet found a signature sound or a musical direction to follow. While not everything on the album is great, it´s the restless energy and the many odd musical experiments which ultimately make "Adolescent Sex" an interesting release. Japan are a well playing band and lead vocalist/guitarist David Sylvian often snarling punk attitude combined with a more melodic glam rock singing style, make for a confusing but very intriguing listen. There´s great focus on groovy rhythms, and the atmospheric synths/keyboards add texture and climatic moments.

Album opener "Transmission" is among the highlights of the album, but despite the eclectic nature of the music and a few less remarkable tracks "Adolescent Sex" is generally a good quality release, featuring a well sounding production, high level musical performances, and some decent to great songwriting. The band themselves weren´t happy with the end result, but you should never trust the artist to review their own output, and to my ears "Adolescent Sex" is better than its reputation. A 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong.

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