Hard Nips - Master Cat (2021)

Hard Nips has been in the game for over a decade now and is tracing its path. The Brooklyn-based Japanese female quartet is enjoying little esteem with their visceral and catchy music, which continues to gain height with their third record called Master Cat.

No matter if they see the competition increasing over the years (CHAI, Otoboke Beaver ...), the four musicians continue to swing the big sound halfway between indie rock and riot grrl with all the decadence and the quirky side that we knows them. This is felt throughout this Master Cat which includes among other things a first high-end title called "Blender X" setting the scene perfectly. The message is clear: Yoki (vocals, keyboards), Saki (guitar), Gooch (bass) and Hitomi (drums) are back to play us a dirty trick.

Hard Nips weighs the pros and cons, the sweet and the surly on tracks with abrasive riffs such as "Workaholic" and "Alternative Dreamland". The quartet does not forget either its feminist messages making the nick to the patriarchy especially on "Analog Guys" whose text deserves all its attention. Nevertheless, the girls' group continues to impose its territory with also "Motto" and "Cupid Devil" which closes this third disc full of testosterone and fantasy which remains endearing above all.