Nicotine are a pop/power punk band from Chiba, Japan. Desperado is their seventh release. I kind of wish they sang in Japanese, but they don’t. Their guitars don’t say anything in Japanese. Even their drums don’t sing in Japanese. I don’t think there is even a word of Japanese on the record. But it’s not a total disappointment.

Desperado is a neat album, and for those that are into the whole Blink 182 style of music (which the band is quite faithful to), it’ll be a downright treat to listen to. The album is most fun when you listen carefully to the lyrics. Sample line, “Nicotine blows you all away, Break down baby, shake it! Shake it! Upside down down down yeah, Dress up baby Hook up! Hook up! Bra bra bra bra bra bra bra bra Take it away! Hey girls, baby! We’re ready to rock rock rock of the rock n’ roll! Get ya!” has been thrown around the office in an attempt to find someone who knows what it means, to no avail.

So yeah, it can be fun to listen to. But in the end, you have to wonder if a Japanese band that has no less than four songs about California on this record alone means or even knows what they’re singing about.