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Overdrive Image
Metascore
67

Generally favorable reviews - based on 8 Critic Reviews What's this?

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  • Summary: This is the 19th full-length studio release from the Japanese pop punk trio.
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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 8
  2. Negative: 0 out of 8
  1. Magnet
    Dec 19, 2014
    70
    Overdrive showcases barer instrumentations and peeled-back song structures. [#110, p.59]
  2. 70
    The turgid ‘Robots From Hell’ aside, they carry it off.
  3. Uncut
    Dec 19, 2014
    70
    While the fuzz-filled punk vibe is still present and correct, there's also a hard rock thread running through Overdrive. [May 2014, p.80]
  4. Dec 19, 2014
    60
    Ultimately, it’s disappointing that after Pop Tune, Shonen Knife seem to be on autopilot, creating songs that could have appeared on any one of their previous records.
  5. Dec 19, 2014
    60
    There’s nothing on Overdrive that’s going to change your mind about Shonen Knife; if nothing else, it’s impressive that they’ve managed to spin so many records out of such a derivative sound.
  6. Dec 19, 2014
    60
    One wishes that the group took a little more time, if not in honing their lyrics, then in not ripping off classic bands of yore, as there is something to be said for taking one’s influences and pureeing it in a blender, rather than simply just copying what came before, which, unfortunately, Shonen Knife sometimes lapse into here.
  7. Dec 19, 2014
    60
    By Shonen Knife's standards, Overdrive does sound like some sort of hard rock album, and the attempts to make like Kiss, Thin Lizzy, or Deep Purple come off better than one might expect, though Yamano's guitar skills are less impressive than those of the average metal axe slinger.

See all 8 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Sep 11, 2015
    7
    This isn't necessarily their best album (or even their best album this decade) but it's still a fun listen and Bad Luck Song is arguable oneThis isn't necessarily their best album (or even their best album this decade) but it's still a fun listen and Bad Luck Song is arguable one of their best songs to date. Expand