As old folk are prone to say, they don't make them like this anymore. Spookey - who come all the way from Japan - keep things simple. Solid, powerpop meets punk with so much manic energy that they could light up a small town.
Like the Ramones, they have a formula and they stick to it. Shake the room with every song and then it is on to the next one. "Sunday" slides right into "Driving" with barely a pause for breath. Mayuni maxes out the grunge with her guitar to create that essential good time but going for broke feel. The title track, "Spookey Cat", seems like a surreal version of the theme to a sixties television series. Sort of the Partridge Family goes wild. "Blanky" throws a bit of ska into the mix. Our favourite was the joyous, if somewhat demented, "Lingering". No idea what it is about but it induced a serious bout of the old air guitar. Cracking stuff.
I suppose that the secret of this band is the "feel good" nature of their music. You just can't help but join in the fun. Bluesbunny might well be getting old and grumpy but even he had to admit being captivated. So stick it in your CD player or iPod thingy and crank up the volume. You know it makes sense!