''Chocolate Synthesizer'' is the fourth studio album by the Japanese rock band

Boredoms Boredoms () (later known as V∞redoms) is a rock band from Osaka, Japan formed in 1986. The band's sound is often referred to as noise rock, or sometimes Japanoise (Japan's noise music scene), though their more recent records have moved towar ...

. It was originally released via WEA Japan and

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

in 1994. It was recorded in four days and mixed in a week. A vinyl re-release was planned for 2013 by the California-based label 1972, but it did not occur. Early Japanese editions of the album were packaged with a coupon offering a free mail-order only 3-inch CD, titled '' Super Roots 2'', only available to Japanese addresses.

Reception

Jon Wiederhorn of ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' gave the album 3 stars out of 5, saying, "Without question, the Boredoms are one of the most bizarre, adventurous bands on the planet, but for anyone who doesn't thrill to disjointed beats and cacophonous clatter, ''Chocolate Synthesizer'' may be a tough sweet to swallow." Meanwhile, Keith Kawaii of ''

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, ...

'' gave the album 4.5 out of 5, saying, "The

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise music, noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimal music, minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, a ...

thing has been done before, of course, but rarely has it stretched this far in every direction, and rarely has it been so successful."

Douglas Wolk Douglas Wolk (born 1970) is a Portland, Oregon-based author and critic. He has written about comics and popular music for publications including ''The New York Times'', ''Rolling Stone'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The Nation'', ''The New Republi ...

of ''

CMJ New Music Monthly CMJ Holdings Corp. is a music events, online media company and a distributor of up and coming music CDs, originally founded in 1978, which ran a website, hosted an annual festival in New York City, and published two magazines, ''CMJ New Music ...

'' called it "their most extraordinary and conceptually unified work to date." In 2007, ''

Rolling Stone Japan ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known f ...

'' placed ''Chocolate Synthesizer'' at number 25 on its list of the "100 Greatest Japanese Rock Albums of All Time".

Track listing

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1994 albums Boredoms albums Reprise Records albums