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The story of rock bands finding success outside their home country is an old one; the list of U.K. bands that made it in the States, but not at home (Led Zeppelin, at first, the Fixx, and Bush are prominent examples) is almost as long as the list of Americans striking gold abroad before finding it at home (Blondie, Stray Cats, Backstreet Boys, hell, even Jimi Hendrix). But the Sushi Cabaret Club is something different: two Brits (Scottish singer/guitarist Dave Wallace and English keyboardist Dave Freeman), an Australian (bassist Aaron Beutel), and an American (drummer Mike Bagley) came together in Nogaya, Japan, not the usual place to start a career from although there are plenty of U.S./U.K. bands that are popular there. Since forming in 2003, the Sushi Cabaret Club has steadily built up a following in Japan through constant gigging and their first two albums, 2003's Beauty Built and 2004's Living On Mountains.
Their newest album, Band in My Head, is a fusion of American hard rock and English progressive rock and the recipe is a potent one. Dave Wallace's voice is one part Springsteen, and one part Bryan Adams, and it serves him well whether the gang is rocking all over the place (the opener "Blues & Greys", "New Beginning") or quietly intense ("Smile" a ballad with gospel-meets-Hendrix overtones). But it's the prog elements that really define this bandas I hear echoes of everyone from Genesis-by-way-of-Marillion ("Concrete Quicksand"),Asia ("Fall"), and the Moody Blues ("Life On Life") in the music and the mystical/inspirational lyrics. It takes instrumental chops, panache, and self-belief to pull off this kind music, and the Sushi boys exhibit ample evidence of the first two, while they must certainly possess the latter in order to launch a world-wide career from Japan; not the easiest thing to do.
