Tokyo-based Lolita No. 18 is billed as the headliner of the "Wild Wacky Party Asia" tour, and they're probably the craziest bunch of rock chicks you'll ever see. They are party animals (vocalist Masayo Ishizaka lists alcoholism as her favorite hobby) and nothing if not extreme. They've even started wearing all the old bondage gear, reinventing themselves as a cartoon all-girl Sex Pistols. Derivative? Naff? You bet, but their best album, 1999's "Yalitamin," is a collection of superb covers of punk, rock and even enka classics.
Oh, and Masayo "sings" like Donald Duck gargling sulfuric acid.
Osaka's Mummy the Peepshow is the smallest band in Japan -- literally. Clad in shiny soccer shirts and short tartan skirts, they like they've just stepped off the school playing field. Each member is about the size of a hobbit, and they all look about 14 years old. Only their bovver boots and guitars give the game away. Though they might recall Shampoo on first listen, there's a lot more substance to them than that. I mean, who but Mummy the Peepshow would even attempt to reinterpret The Cure's "Boys Don't Cry" as a bizarre, laid-back pop-reggae workout? And it's brilliant. Like all naughty school kids, against the best advice, they'll try anything once.