ALP$BOYS - "still alps" (CD)

Formed around 2013. After several lineup changes, the band has now achieved its strongest lineup to date.

Over the past few years, ALP$BOYS have continued to “scale new heights,” and even with their limited live performances, they consistently leave a lasting impression wherever they play.

This album features a total of 13 tracks. It becomes clear after listening to just the first few songs, but as a full-length album, it should convey just how much passion has been poured into the variety, arrangements, and richness of each part.

Starting with the first track, which cuts in hard and accelerates, the clash between the rocking guitar and another guitar that seems to subtly counter it intertwines in a highly unpredictable way as two distinct layers. Combined with the frenetic, relentless interplay of all the parts—including the bass and drums, which powerfully convey both blistering speed and dynamic sway—the result is an absolutely insane (for the second time) track that builds with intense momentum.

Furthermore, the vocals—which have evolved to showcase even sharper lyrical talent in a way that synergizes with the awesomeness of the previous album—unleash the full, boundless appeal of this album, expressing a mysterious, intoxicating contrast of gritty yet sharp energy alongside a stoic, headlong drive. It’s gaining a strong presence as an album with a unique personality that’s hard to find anywhere else, whether you look back and forth, left and right, or across past and future. Just as this album was created over a considerable amount of time, the final product delivers a high level of satisfaction.

While it exudes an alternative vibe and a New York-style sensibility reminiscent of *Straight Ahead* and *Rest In Pieces*, it also evokes the traditional hardcore of their home country, as heard in bands like the Abestie Boys and early TOAST. The way the driving rhythm—which rolls along with a bouncy beat—coexists with the song’s progression is reminiscent of Deathreat, Unbroken, and Annihilation Time being struck from the side by the space rock sensibilities of Hawkwind’s *In Search of Space* or Chrome’s *Alien Soundtracks* era through *Farflung*, or by the desert rock hooks of bands like Nebula. With deliberate Sabbath-style twin-lead passages—followed by a return to blistering speed in the next track—and other such developments, their unique blend of elements fiercely intertwines at the core of each song, making this unmistakably a modern “Real Mixture.”

If there are people who sense Stiff Little Fingers in “Slight Slappers” and GG Allin & The Jabbers in “Senseless Apocalypse,” then perhaps there will also be those who see The Saints in ALP$BOYS.

This recording—approximately 30 minutes in length, boiled down to its purest essence—is a collection of the entire youth and personal histories of adults who have not forgotten, and cannot forget, the thrill of those days, all served up on a single platter.

tracklist:
01. SSS
02. KENTUCKY
03. R51
04. BAD FEELING
05. THE BLEW
06. BOSTON
07. DRUNK MONKEY BLUES
08. CHAOS CONTROL
09. AGAIN
10. ASSAULT
11. 極楽浄土
12. BURNING RICE
13. JERRY