Sadaharu

The sound of discontent has a name, and its name is Sadaharu. Blending the big blues riffs of BLACK SABBATH and the frantic urgency of the DC post-hardcore sound, alongside stripped down rock and roll with jazz undertones and the aggressiveness of the early Am Rep sound, SADAHARU is a musical amalgamation quite unlike any other. Formed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in late 2000, SADAHARU'S musical identity was quickly realized, and within four months the band was in the studio recording their debut CD, Punishment in Hi-Fi (An Audio Boxing Match in Which the Listener is the Loser). Self-releasing the CD, the group used it as a spring board from which to relentlessly hit the road. With a non-stop drive to play shows, a no-holds-barred live performance, and an infectious (if hard to define) sound, the band began to build a small, but cult-like, following throughout the East Coast and Midwest. The following year brought the band to the attention of CI Records, who ushered them back into the studio to record for a split CD with another up-and-coming band, ALBERT REACT. The CD, SADAHARU'S first national release, hit stores in January of 2003. Barely more than a month later, SADAHARU was back in the studio recording their debut-full length, Anthem For New Sonic Warfare. Lyrically exploring the theme that music has become “cookie-cutter” and “bland”, Anthem For New Sonic Warfare was the band’s staunch declaration that music can still be exciting and fresh. Released in November of that year, Anthem quickly garnered critical praise. Alternative Press gave the album a rare 5 out of 5 rating, calling the band “Amazing punk/hardcore/jazz rockers [with] the dissonance of DRIVE LIKE JEHU, REFUSED'S energy, and the (INTERNATIONAL) NOISE CONSPIRACY'S groove”. Skratch called SADAHARU “an adventurously well-versed rock band that likes playing and composing edgy music that has no problem holding the hammer of the gods, yet contains the jazzy undertones of FUGAZI or AT THE DRIVE-IN... hypnotic anthems that blend hardcore, indie punk, and noise rock into one clever concoction.” Mean Street declared that “SADAHARU trumpets a soundtrack to social unrest and a rallying cry against musical mediocrity. The barrage of frantic riffing, noisy rock groove and irreverence for consistent time signatures should prick up the ears of the most skeptical hardcore scenester.” Extensive full-US touring preceeded and followed the release of Anthem including tours with A STATIC LULLABY, LETTER KILLS, THE RISE, THE AKAs, and others, as well as stops at CMJ and SXSW. In mid 2004, the band holed themselves up in their studio space and began writing and demoing songs for their follow-up. With an intense focus on continuing to evolve, lest Anthem’s broad declaration of “try something new!” become trite and hypocritical, the band emerged with enough material for their second full-length, and entered the studio soon after. Working long, 12 hour days, the sessions fueled a new creative drive for the band, and they left the studio with the tracks that would become The Politics of Dancing. Driving and aggressive, while at the same full of SADAHARU'S trademark riffing, The Politics of Dancing follows in the tradition the band set in motion with Anthem of speaking to the listener, and not at them, delivering a message of personal rebellion and evolution. For, as the liner notes exclaim, “A foundation of wide-spread individuality and free-thought must exist before any actual, meaningful change can ever occur on a larger stage,” a statement that speaks just as much about people’s musical and artistic tastes, as it does broad global politics, and everything that falls in between. Discontent never sounded so good.