Yoko Yazawa – Lady No. 5 (Review)

J-Rock Reviews

Yoko Yazawa
Lady No. 5

Review by David Cirone

JRock247-Yoko-Yazawa-Lady-No-5

Lady No. 5 is another great vocal showcase for Yoko Yazawa, who continues to come into her own with 6 more songs in a fast follow up to 2013’s Bad Cat EP. Produced by L.A.’s Toshi Yanagi (of Jimmy Kimmel fame), opening track “Naked Love” rocks out from the opening riffs with a rhythm that’s begging for a disco remix.

Yazawa’s captivating chorus and dramatic synthesizer on “Black Sunshine” plus the confident sing-along groove of “Tokyo Souon Scramble” make the first half of the EP almost triple-A-side material.

Yazawa has pulled of some great cover versions in previous releases (The Pretenders’ “Don’t Get Me Wrong” and Suzy Quatro’s “The Wild One”). This time around the cover of “Walk Like An Egyptian” is technically correct, but the literal interpretation misses the tongue-in-cheek charisma of the original.

Title track “Lady No. 5” is all spunk and swagger, and “Garakuta” lets Yazawa go full-on tigress on her straying lover with a mixed English vocal mix that’s an almost spot-on match to her live performance power.

Lady No.5 / Yoko Yazawa
Yoko Yazawa