Tokyo Beef take punk rock and combine it with booze soaked pub rock.  Simple as that.  No frills.  No bullshit.

Opening up the Stitched Up EP is The Way We Like It.  Energetic and ballsy is the best way to describe it – but that’s pub rock in a nutshell.  Plenty of riffs, a driving rhythm, and vocals that are easy to engage with – they are far from perfect, but they are suited to the style of music.

Kamikaze Man brings a bit of Maiden-esque gallop to Tokyo Beefs arsenal.  It’s a blend of pub rock, punk rock and NWOBHM stylings – a combination that will be popular with fans.  The title track, Stitched Up, will be a little more accessible due to the guitar work, but ultimately it’s still very blue collar, and relatable.

Black Dog River is punchy, Gypsy Woman is some of the bands best work, at least on this EP, while Midnight Train sees Tokyo Beef introduce something a little more blues based to their sound – particularly in the guitar.

To close out the EP, Bad Seed is a little more ambitious.  Clocking in at six minutes in length, the song is the fist pumping pub rock that we’ve come to be familiar with from the band, but they really let the guitars loose on this one, and the song benefits for it.  The extended jam/ band introductions in the mid section is a nice touch too.

This is DIY rock n roll, and while the EP is a pretty good listen, I think it’s fair to say that Tokyo Beef are far better suited to the live setting – that’s not an insult to their recorded work, I just think that the at a live gig, these songs would really come to life.

6/10

Review by Shayne McGowan