This is a 26-track collection of singles from Your Pest Band, a Japanese four-piece who crank out hi-energy, lo-fi and catchy garage pop-punk.
Smash Hits!! isn't rocket science, but it's evident that Your Pest Band know how to throw together some chords, chuck in some melody, pour in some snot and mix it all up to be able to deliver roughly-hewn nuggets that will get feet tapping and heads nodding, whilst wearing a big fat smile.
You can actually drop all of the adjectives in the first paragraph above â you only need to know that basically, this is punk rock: everything else is superfluous. What's not to like about songs that energise the listener and make them happy? I doubt that the members of Your Pest Band care much about how they're described as long as those listening to them are having a good time. Admittedly, it's not genre-defining or going to make people go weak at the knees with excitement, but it's solid enough.
There are a handful of covers to be found on this album and "Punk Guy" (originally by NOFX) and "Please Mr Postman" (originally by the Carpenters) are great to listen to, especially due to the vocals which are in English, yet with a distinctive Japanese inflection throughout.