First they go and win some German label's equivalent of American Idol and get themselves a record deal with their trophy (the other winners were the Easy Cure - later just The Cure). Then, these sloppy boys can't decide what they are in the midst of the 70's musical maelstroms - glam, disco, punk and the beginnings of electronica - and so just throw it all together. The result is this minor classic. Think Chic with a snarl and too much eyeliner. The product of a perfect storm of snotty youth, too many records, aimlessness and a desire to be heard above the din, this brew could not have been concocted at any other time.Later Sylvain and company would chop their coifs, coif their chops, and find their way as leaders of the New Romantics, but they'd never make anything like this again.
allmusic:
Although Japan later became one of new romantics' poster children, their 1978 Adolescent Sex LP predated the movement by two years. A remarkable debut, the set snarls with leftover punk intent, a few glam rock riffs, and a wealth of electronics that not only reach back to the band's youth, but also predate much of what would explode out of the next wave of British underground. The "wow factor" of an incredibly funky bass and guitar on "The Unconventional," repeated again on "Wish You Were Black," is not only a surprise but leaves one wondering if the band were closet Chic fans — especially in light of the seven-minute jam "Suburban Love" that follows a little later on. Elsewhere, though, the band play closer to their roots while defining their own style, which includes David Sylvian's wonderfully sexy, tousled vocals — most notably on the epic, and sexy, post-punker "Television" and a cover of the vintage showstopper "Don't Rain on My Parade." A more exciting album than just about anything else they'd ever record, Japan were young, hungry, and more than a little rough around the edges. Despite the slick R&B work twined in, it's important to remember that this band were in the sonic foothold of an early edgy era — groundbreakers at their own inception. The sound, that look — it fit them well
Although Japan later became one of new romantics' poster children, their 1978 Adolescent Sex LP predated the movement by two years. A remarkable debut, the set snarls with leftover punk intent, a few glam rock riffs, and a wealth of electronics that not only reach back to the band's youth, but also predate much of what would explode out of the next wave of British underground. The "wow factor" of an incredibly funky bass and guitar on "The Unconventional," repeated again on "Wish You Were Black," is not only a surprise but leaves one wondering if the band were closet Chic fans — especially in light of the seven-minute jam "Suburban Love" that follows a little later on. Elsewhere, though, the band play closer to their roots while defining their own style, which includes David Sylvian's wonderfully sexy, tousled vocals — most notably on the epic, and sexy, post-punker "Television" and a cover of the vintage showstopper "Don't Rain on My Parade." A more exciting album than just about anything else they'd ever record, Japan were young, hungry, and more than a little rough around the edges. Despite the slick R&B work twined in, it's important to remember that this band were in the sonic foothold of an early edgy era — groundbreakers at their own inception. The sound, that look — it fit them well
And of the title track:
Broken down into its simplest components, ”Adolescent Sex” flays wide into classic funk bass-beating thumps, glammed out guitar, snotty punk vocals and proto disco cum wave synths. Put back together, though, and fed through Japan frontman David Sylvian’s pockmarked brain, (it) is an onslaught of a bewildering battery of stylistic nervous breakdowns, all so gorgeously twined that the resulting brew is simply stunning. Redolent of the New York Dolls, if they really had been as garish, glammed and gorgeous as their posthumous press insists, the title track of the band’s 1978 debut album packs a devilish freneticism that, just as the Dolls themselves discovered, won the band very few mainstream fans, and left even the art-school fringe of Punk feeling nervous. What it did achieve, however, was a veritable sonic breakthrough, a climactic clash of new breed idealism and forward thinking experimentalism that, by the standards of the time, was simply staggering.
It may have been nervy at the time, but listening to it now it's just supple. It's surprising how easily you can spin out a rainy Saturday afternoon with it, and how much you wish somebody - anybody - would look back, grab its de-lish melange, and make some more.
Hear
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