Second Floor Daycare

Toire Wa Doko Desu Ka (2001)

punkCANADA

My first impression of this CD was that it was Japanese. Along with with the title Toire Wa Doko Desu Ka, meaning "Where is the toilet?" (thank you google) the track names are written to look Japanese. But besides these things and some cool ninja/samurai artwork there isn't much of a Japanese theme at all, except of course the song "Let's Learn Japanese." Instead it's just average Calgary punk.

The CD opens with a clip from the TV show Blossom. It's the intro to a song called "Jenna Von Oy" about being happy with the girl who played Sixx on that show, and Joey being a fucking jerk. Whoa! The lyrics to all the songs are stupid and funny, and not very serious at all. They range anywhere from boob jobs and Buffy to time wasted metaphors of a fish swimming upstream. The singer's voice is young sounding, which suits the lyrics.

All the songs are short and mostly upbeat. Only one of them lasts more than three minutes and some don't even last two. This 12 track CD falls a few minutes short of a half an hour. The pace stays mainly fast with quick changing power chords. Nothing too complicated. Simple mini-solos are thrown in here and there. There are other longer, more complicated solos in some of the songs, like the beginning of "Silicone Valley Girls." There's some good riffs in " SLB" as well. It's one of the shortest songs and harder than all the rest. The vocals are nothing but screams, and the guitar takes on more of a metal sound. It's followed by "All Lubed Up", another song typical to their style, and then the final track, a cover of Britney Spears' "Baby, One More Time." If Britney Spears could scream like in this song I'd be frightened. In a good way

So this album wasn't the ninja-punk thriller I hoped it would be. It has some of the energy of a nun chuck wielding assassin but not the style and finesse that a true ninja-punk band would possess. And I can say that because as far as I know there aren't any ninja-punk bands out there. But if you find one that sounds like this band then go ahead and prove me wrong. Or start your own ninja band. Go ahead. I dare you.

Originally posted at punkCANADA.net.