'Kintama' eclectic compilation of kooky sounds

By Derek Paiva
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

Representing Honolulu's indie scene, Gwen Hirai, left, and her partner Paul Bajcar perform at Avant Pop at Club Pauahi. Advertiser library photo CD Release Party For "World Famous Kintama Boxers" with Paul and Gwen, Teradactyl, The Bunk Beds, Haunted Pines, The Beta Release, Postmodern 8 p.m. Saturday Café Ground Level, 1154 Fort St. $6; for 21 and older 546-9998 Also: Cover includes complimentary "World Famous Kintama Boxers" CD

On "World Famous Kintama Boxers" (Chicken Katsu Records, 2003), an often entertaining collection of unsigned (and, sadly, sometimes dissolved) indie bands from Minnesota, Hawai'i, Okinawa and elsewhere, the Brothers Gibb cover in question is "Stayin' Alive." As realized by defunct Okinawan quintet Stoopidly Yours, the song is terrifically stripped of its white polyester suit for a two-minute burst of distorted punk guitars and screaming off-key vocals.

Like much of "Kintama," it's a fun listen — just one track on a happily genre-hopping CD of bands clearly influenced by everyone from Nirvana and Weezer to early Flaming Lips and Dick Dale. None of "Kintama" is knock-your-nylons-off great. But there's very little that'll make you yearn for the return of disco either.

Distributing label Chicken Katsu is a Minneapolis-based indie owned by someone with the unfortunate alias of The BeerBug. The Hawai'i link is the Chicken Katsu Curry label, which is hosting the local release party for the "Kintama" compilation at Cafe Ground Level Saturday night. Scheduled to represent the Honolulu indie scene with live sets are Paul and Gwen, Teradactyl, The Bunk Beds, Haunted Pines, The Beta Release and Postmodern.

Missing, however, will be the four now-defunct Hawai'i bands actually on the CD (The Persephone Myth, Kite Festival, SPIMA, Fire For Effect). Sad, because one of these offered up one of the compilation's best tracks, and nearly all contribute interesting enough work to make one want to hear more.

A bouncy drum-and-guitar-driven Cure meets Sundays homage, The Persephone Myth's "In Flight" was my favorite of these; sweetly off-kilter vocals by Kristen Close sealed the deal here. Dripping with screaming speed-metal guitars and vocals that suggest Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister on a hopeless 12-step for Marlboros, SPIMA's "The Curse" is murky and derivative bliss.

The best of the rest?

• "Tidepools," by sombertown (Minneapolis).
• "Girls Do Not Make Passes At Boys Who Wear Glasses," by Rank Strangers (Minneapolis).
• "Shinigami No Tsubasa," by Take Care of Calcium (Ibaraki, Japan).
• "Clean and Obscene," by JChurch (Austin, Texas).