FEMM – PoW! / L.C.S. (Review)

J-Pop Reviews

FEMM
PoW!/L.C.S.
Review by David Cirone

NekoPOP-FEMM-PoW-LCS-Review-1

FEMM isn’t running short in the attitude department — they’re still throwing buckets of shade on haters and broadly proclaiming their #1 status. “I’mma bad bitch chick outta Marvel flick” is the monster hook in the lead single “PoW!” Packing the song with aggressive lyrics while maintaining the mannequin facade is the contrast that shows FEMM at their best, and “POW!” is the replay track of the month on my workout playlist.

“L.C.S.” is jumping-hot, but it’s all over the place, and the vocals are way too “human” for RiRi and LuLa. This is one of those cases where FEMM’s managers/alter-egos Honey-B & W-Trouble would fit the material better. In fact, Honey-B & W-Trouble get plenty of love on the PoW!/L.C.S. CD, giving fans two alternate takes on their vocals for “Astroboy”. The Japanese version of the song is a treat, and it’s a reminder of how well FEMM pulls off their contemporary English lyrics.

POW!/L.C.S. is packed with some killer remixes. “Fxxk Boyz Get Money (Invaderous Remix)” goes atomic on the duo’s most popular song (visit JPU Records to get the T-Shirt) and “Whiplash (sfpr remix)” is a mind-bending rave-ready ear candy. With a total of 7 remixed or re-versioned songs on PoW!/L.C.S, it’s not the new material that’s the star here — it’s the (finally!) CD release of FEMM-isation, the duo’s previously digital-only release of 13 tracks that s-l-a-y. With some of the songs dating up to 2 years old, this is an electronic dance album that’s still light years ahead of most other Japanese releases in the genre.

“Party All Night”, “Kill The DJ”, “We Flood The Night” are still as fresh-sounding as they were on Day 1, and getting both CDs in the same package make this combo release a must-catch item. Check out the video for “FEMM – UFO feat. Fz from sfpr vs Invaderous” below:

https://youtu.be/zWtCQcwX2zc

Available from JPU Records: http://www.jpurecords.com/artists/femm

and also from CD Japan: