IO Echo’s “Addicted” & Bugy Craxone

This is the cover art for the single “Addicted” by Los Angeles indie rockers IO Echo. The band is Ioanna Gika and Leopold Ross. The song appears on the band’s debut album Ministry of Love (2013). I’m not really a fan of IO Echo, but, I love Ioanna’s look in this photo – messy black hair, kind of heroin chic. If she had tattoos and/or a nose piercing, she’d be perfect! Watch the video for “Addicted” here …

I love the excessive red lipstick, too. It’s very Brody Dalle-ish; and Distillers-era Dalle is perfection. However, in the photo above, Ioanna reminded me of Yukiko Suzuki of Bugy Craxone …

Bugy Craxone is a female-fronted Japanese rock band formed in 1997 in Sapporo. Yukiko Suzuki is their lovely lead vocalist/guitarist. Bugy Craxone, on their first 3 albums, delivered alternative rock; but, with their 4th album, the band shifted gears into punky garage rock, similar to Tokyo’s detroit7, then, eventually, incorporated a more indie pop/rock sound. Bugy Craxone’s recent album Neapolitan Lemonade We Are Happy (2014), their 11th, is another excellent addition to the band’s discography [favorite songs include the title track (“ナポリタン・レモネード・ウィーアーハッピー”) and “Nice, Nice, Nice (ナイス・ナイス・ナイス)”]. However, my favorite Bugy Craxone albums are sorry, I will scream here (2004), their 5th; and, the two pictured above, Good morning, Punk Lovers (2008) and Hello Punk Lovers (2008), their 7th and 8th, respectively. Here’s a 13-track playlist of my favorite Bugy Craxone tracks, 2004-08 …

1. “Come on” [from Good morning…]. Great single! A bass-driven garage rocker!
2. “LUCKY” [from sorry…]. A frenetic garage punker!
3. “Green Gables (グリンゲーブルス)” [from Good morning ..]. Awesome mid-tempo alt-rocker!
4. “I’m sorry” [from sorry..]. Punk meets indie rock in the garage!
5. “Why not?” [from sorry…]. Sounds like female-fronted Japanese pop/punkers Uplift Spice!
6. “Tosaku no mori (倒錯の森)” [from sorry…]. Excellent power ballad with awesome vocals!
7. “FAST” [from Good morning…]. Another frenetic garage punker!
8. “11 tsuki (11月)” [from sorry…]. Another excellent power ballad!
9. “How are you?” [from Good morning…]. A Hives-esque garage rocker with a familiar riff!
10. “Hello” [from Good morning…]. Catchy alt-rock!
11. “Oh yeah” [from Hello…]. More energetic indie-esque garage rock!
12. “Tenshi ni yoroshiku (天使によろしく)” [from Hello…]. I love the riff that drives this mid-tempo rocker!
13. “Taiyo ga ippai (太陽がいっぱい)” [from Bugy Craxone (2005)]. “ippai! ippai! ippai! ippai!”