At the deep, gooey center where punk rock and power pop meet sits John Cafiero (a longtime collaborator with the Misfits and Ramones) and his wildly infectious, impossible to ignore supergroup Osaka Popstar.
Going back to 2006’s Osaka Popstar and the American Legends of Punk, Cafiero and a revolving cast of punk and pop greats have been sporadically offering up catchy as COVID EPs, singles, and one sole LP. After a six-year absence, Osaka Popstar is back with a frustratingly short four-song EP, Ear Candy. As brief as this offering is, it’s still better than nothing.
The EP kicks off with the lone original “Lost & Found,” written by Cafiero, and then follows with The Archie’s cover “Sugar, Sugar,” The Partridge Family earworm “I Think I Love You,” and the less well-known Monkees song “All Of Your Toys.” While the two middle tracks—covered ad nauseum for decades—would seem to be cheating a bit, Cafiero and crew still manage to make them fun and a little original, thanks to the Ramone’s-worthy speed with which they are played.
For this outing, Cafiero is joined by Dean Rispler (The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black) on guitar and Jon Wurster (Superchunk, Bob Mould, and The Mountain Goats) on drums. Colleen Green also provides backing vocals on “Sugar, Sugar” and “I Think I Love You.”
