Show-Ya: Showdown

By my count, Show-Ya had nine full-length releases between 1985 and 1995, before a respite in their career. They came back in 2012 with Genuine Diamond and have subsequently released five more albums, the most recent being this year’s Showdown.

Show-Ya is an all-female group from Japan and describe themselves as a metal band. That moniker seems questionable to me, at least on Showdown. Rather, the album sounds like a solid work of power pop with moments of hard rock.

The lineup includes Keiko Torada on lead vocals, Miki “Sun-go� Igarashi on guitar, Miki “Captain� Nakamura on keyboards, Satomi Senba on bass, and Miki “Mittan� Tsunoda on drums. In addition, Doro Pesch provides guest vocals on “Heavy Metal Femininity.�

Tsunoda is a powerhouse on the drums. Torada is a talented vocalist, with a wide range. And Nakamura provides some nice keyboard textures throughout the album.

The standout tracks, in my opinion, are “Heavy Metal Femininity,� “Thunder,� and “Hold Me,� all good rockers with catchy hooks. I like the music on “Wind,� which features some nice tempo changes, but Torada sounds a lot like Bonnie Raitt at times, which just doesn’t match the song. The only track on the album that I can’t tolerate is the closer, “So… .� It comes off as an unsuccessful attempt to replicate a Natalie Merchant tune from, say, Tigerlily, Ophelia, or Motherland, and I like all three of those albums.

Will I listen to Showdown again? Maybe. But did it do enough to make me want to investigate Show-Ya’s back catalog? No.

Track Listing:
1. Eye to Eye
2. Never
3. Heavy Metal Femininity
4. Tokyo, I Scream
5. Kiss in the Riot
6. Wind
7. Thunder
8. Hold Me
9. Don’t Runaway
10. Rocks
11. So...

Added: October 15th 2021
Reviewer: Aaron Steelman
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 539
Language: english

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