Jazz-Punk fusion like you’ve never seen before. Hello Everyone, Nice to Meet You, We are Midori or Aratamemashite, Hajimemashite, Midori Desu is the fourth studio album released by punk jazz, noise rock fusion band Midori on May 14th 2008. Over the ten song tracklist, Midori settles into your ear and destroys it with sounds you’ve likely never heard before.

First  of all, there’s probably a few thoughts on your mind: who is Midori and why are you reviewing an album over a decade old? Well, Midori was a four person band that formed in 2003 in Osaka, Japan and stayed active all the way up to 2010. Over the course of Midori’s career, they saturated the Japanese music scene with hardcore that had never been heard before. Here in the U.S., Midori is hardly known at all; hopefully, rather than fade into complete obscurity, they rise to heights of fame in the states.

Why ‘We are Midori’? Why out of all three of their albums you landed upon this one? Personally, this was the gateway for me into not just Midori, but a whole subculture of music that I had no idea existed until I stumbled upon it. But that is beside the point.

We are Midori starts with the track Suki(I like). A simple sounding, short, and light hearted song that sets you into a false sense of security and comfort. The second track Yukiko-San blasts your eardrums wide open as “DESTROY!” rings through them and sends you into shock. This album leaves you energized and wondering what exactly you just heard. Whether it’s the fuzzy, distorted guitars or the rhythmic slapping of the keyboard and drums or the insane range of Goto’s voice, you will not leave empty handed.

Throughout the tracks, you have such varying degrees of tone, style, and overall sound. It is quite difficult to pin down exactly what genre Midori is. Is it jazz? Is it Punk? Is it Hardcore mixed with J-Pop? The world may never know, but regardless of what you personally consider yourself to enjoy, you will find yourself questioning just that by the end of the album. Hello Everyone, We are Midori, Nice to Meet You is an outstanding album that will make you want to scream and kick and laugh; and for anyone looking for something new, next time try Midori.