American Sensei

Snacky Poo (Fuel)
by Sheril Stanford

Made up of four swell guys from the Bay area, American Sensei churn out tight, accessible and smoothly melodic pop. Snacky Poo, produced by Matt Hyde (but don’t let that throw you; nothing could be further from Porno for Pyros), has eight unvaryingly likable, sincere, and finely sculpted tracks. Heavy on the tuneful factor, “Snacky Poo” is saved from being saccharin by just the right amount of off-key vocals, feedback and edgy dissonance. Fusing the classic indie sound with a nice helping of noise, these tunes alternate between ambitiously mopey and hooky speed pop, with sing-along choruses throughout.

American Sensei tackles the classic themes of love, loss, and loserdom with spirited aplomb. A standout is “I’ve Got My Fingers Crossed” (“If my life is a movie, I know I’m not the star/Everybody but you knows that you are”), a quickie, lovelorn rant with fuzz and feedback. Several of the tunes are heavily jazz influenced, in particular, “Sheepish,” complete with Wurlitzer piano and brushes on the hi-hat. The lead intro into “L.A.” has a similar soft and jazzy feel. Hey, it’s like they say, quality music at an affordable price.