Taiga reveals that new niches of popular music are still possible even in this era of hairsplitting genres. OOIOO (pronounced "oh-oh-eye-oh-oh") seems to have invented Japanese Tribal Electronic Screamo. Whatever you call it, one thing is for sure: This album cannot be filed under Easy Listening. It is a dense and dissonant arrangement of sounds.
The disc features eight sometimes lengthy tracks, each influenced by African tribal rhythms, Japanese pop sensibilities, electronic effects and screaming vocals. A side project led by Yoshimi P-We of the Boredoms, OOIOO is named after a binary number. Along those lines, the album comes off as theoretically brilliant but emotionally inaccessible.
On paper, Taiga is a great concept album. In reality, it makes for an unappealing listen.
