A Parallel Planets piece by Unknown
Parallel Planets presents Miu Mau
in Female/Fancy Hormones/Harmonies
Story and Video by Erin Emocling
Mentioned: swathed in jealous crepe, high-pitched 'kawaii' cheers, and estrogen & progesterone
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Here’s an insignificant confession: it has always been my dream to be in an all-girl band because, hah, all-girl bands are fucking cool—full stop. Back when I was in Manila, I was in the verge of forming one with my two girl-friends. We were a threesome of virgins with our chosen tools (mine’s the bass) and we called ourselves Menarchy, a word I learned from my pre-med college days, which pretty much sums up our common womanly, hormonal issues. We managed to make a song or two but we never got to play a legit show because life just happened and we're now living in different parts of the globe.
Fast-forward to where I am now, forming a band is back to being all but a dream, which really kind of sucks. I don’t even have a bass guitar to practice my very basic skills so all I can do is check out live gigs (of all-girl bands in particular) and let myself be drop-dead envious so one day, I’d have the drive (and courage) to play the bass again. And then, one night, I saw Miu Mau play in front of me. And then, I'm swathed in jealous crepe, big time.
When Masami Takashima, Hiromi Kajiwara, and Miwako Matsuda are on stage being their awesome selves, they’re collectively called Miu Mau. I first saw them along with Hysteric Picnic's gig at a live house in Shibuya, called Home, where they both released their albums Monochrome and Cult Pops, respectively. They were the last band to play that night and all I had in mind after their set was, "Damn, I want more from these girls." And just naturally, I had a huge yearning for my girl-friends back home.
|| See also: Hysteric Picnic: Dancing in Delirium ||
As far back as I can recall from that night, Miu Mau is not your usual “kawaii rock” band. Why not? Because my eyes were constantly plastered to how rad they are at handling their instruments! Masami’s beats and vocals were sick as fuck. I didn't know that bass could sound that cool on a Korg synth and, now, I'm so eager to try one. Hiromi, the one with a megane, had a tiny planet of her own and she just kept being cute with her catchy plucks and occasional back-ups. And Miwako, in spite of being at the back, was super awesome as well because, ugh, girl drummers who sing at the same time? The deal is done! Everyone in the crowd was pleased, obviously, because there was the redundant high-pitched “K-A-W-A-I-I” cheers after every song they played, which is slightly weird because even the boys were chanting, too!
Only Miu Mau knows how to make kawaii sound so cool—they also had similar outfits, which made them more adorable to watch. It’s probably the influx of estrogen and progesterone, chemically mixed with musical instruments, that make them so irresistible to listen to. To make things simpler, they're like a funkier, new wavy-pop version of Shonen Knife! There, I said it. Altogether, they're just the perfect chemistry, go ahead and ask Mr. White; he'll surely agree so. It's been more than a week since I saw them but I always still find myself going back to their online stuff. Their music videos are such eye candies, too!
I was in a torrid trance while I watched Miu Mau that I wasn’t able to take a photo of them. Instead, I took a video of them! Ha! So good job to me. Do yourself a favor and watch them play Future Classic (未来のクラシック). This one's a shaky video, gomen ne, since I was semi-dancing along with their tune.
Another giveaway: listen to their song Neon—it's also one of my favorites from them. If you're in the area, make sure you check Miu Mau live as well! You can also score their tunes from Girlfriend Record. And as for my eternal up and coming "band," we really need a lot of practice, girls, if we'd like to catch up on these cutie pies!
More from Miu Mau
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