TsuShiMaMiRe, the all-girl Japanese rock trio, have recently teamed up with Good Charamel Records for the US release of their brand new Sci Fi concept album, "Shocking." It is an epic album, to say the least, with twelve all-new songs that carry on with their idiosyncratic sound and usual topics but with a wild outer space twist. In fact, the material on "Shocking" seems to have been written and recorded aboard a flying saucer and then beamed down to Earth for the human listening experience.

While the opener on "Shocking," Hungry and Empty, is a bit out of character for TsuShiMaMiRe, with its slow-paced, clear-channel indie rock sound, the trio blast off on the second song, Darwin, with just the sort of heavy, chaotic post punk and J-core sound that put them on the map in the first place. Theme of SARA, the album's third track, goes from a rather tame tempo and vocal delivery that would probably cross the drawn-out line if not for a sudden and drastic change into an all-out punk rock frenzy. Next up, number four, Memoirs of Cabbage Wild, is another uncharacteristic offering from the girls, as they venture into hip hop, which they do surprisingly well, and then shift gears into a catchy hard rock direction.

Shocking, the title track, is the shortest song on the album at a little over two minutes, with infectious distortion-driven guitar, big twangy basslines, hard-hitting drums, and plenty of cutesy vocals. But it is song ten, Messiah - The God of Food, that proves the most ambitious of the lot, beginning with jazzy high notes and noise, giving way to a steady minimalist bassline, punctuating drumbeats, and soft, half-spoken vocals; from there it gets really creative, with off and on heaviness, odd timing and group vocals, a clean guitar solo over whispers, and eventually a pause, after which they go a Capella with a sort of Bohemian Rhapsody-esque part. Truly a mind-blowing composition.

At the same time Good Charamel Records released "Shocking," they also put out a deluxe edition of TsuShiMaMiRe's 2011 album "Giving Blood," titled "Giving More Blood." Quite simply, it is a fifteen-song album, complete with couple of bonus tracks and a few demo versions.

Rumor has it that TsuShiMaMiRe will be heading out on a US tour this coming fall. So be on the lookout for those dates. They put on a great show.