Shonen Knife

Shonen Knife shot out of Osaka in the early ’80s as an all-girl punk group with earnestness to match its infectious melodies and three-minutes-or-less songs. The band soon came to the attention of the taste-making K Records, which re-released the group’s debut album for American audiences, and not long after attracted a host of influential fans. By the mid-’90s, Shonen Knife had obtained any number of era-appropriate status symbols—a tour slot with Nirvana, appearances at Lollapalooza, and a featured music video on Beavis And Butt-head. Despite some lineup changes, the band continues to churn out three-chord, sweet-and-sour boppers, releasing a pair of English-language LPs—Free Time and Fun!Fun!Fun!—in 2010; Osaka Ramones, a tribute to the new-wave pioneers, in 2011; and a brand-new record, Pop Tune, in June.  

Updated 07/25/2012