ONE SWEET, SWEET BAND: WE SAVE STRAWBERRIES

-- Don Quan Translated by Annie Liu

It's time to meet one of the 'best-tasting' bands in Taiwan- We Save Strawberries. Formed in 1998, the band is comprised of Lapen (vocals, acoustic guitar), Arny (electric guitar, vocals), Kurt (electric guitar, vocals), Tony (bass, vocals), Juzen (drums) and Tom (DJ, effects and vocals).

Having played at every major festival and city in Taiwan, Arny states, "We've too many musical influences." This becomes clear when trying to categorize their music. He describes it as "carefree, leisurely, pleasing music about life and life experiences". Their live show will take you on a ride through dreampop-land, shoegazer-land, lofi-rock-land, then bring you back with a few superb pop songs.
The melodies and lyrics are composed mostly by Lapen, who possesses one of the sexiest voices since Beth Orton. The other members collectively arrange the instrumentation. Most of the songs are in Mandarin, but Lapen can sing quite well in English, as their version of The Carpenter's "The End Of The World" demonstrates. While never confined to one style or genre, their songs always have brilliant melodies.

WSS's first album is no longer available, but they're recording new material for release later this year. In the meantime, catch one of their videos on MTV, or better yet, check out a live show. You will certainly be left with a sweet taste in your mouth; kinda like strawberries.

WSS on the web: www.wss.tw
Videos: http://www.youtube.com/watchv=6FDNoW59Jcs&search=
WSS Live: At press time, nothing confirmed in the south for August (August 18 - The Wall, Taipei)