Triceratops are a tight trio with a rather western sound; their earlier work kind of reminds me of early Technical Jed meets Smashing Pumpkins.

Big on the guitar sound, and with influences from The Beatles and U2 to The Rentals (!), Triceratops have been around for a decade but are only now starting to catch the public's attention.

I crashed the party with their third album, [A Film About the Blues], which was a very solid effort with more strong tracks than one would expect. Sung in Japanese with English song titles, the songs are uptempo and immediately accessible.

Their subsequent album for Sony, [King Of The Jungle], is a mighty fine recording that saw me through the early 00s in style. I lost track of them for a while, when they changed labels to Victor, but eventually tracked down the resplendent [Dawn World] which is more atmospheric (a little less rocky) and extremely pleasing. It's one of my more favorite recordings.

[Licks & Rocks] has more of a roots rock attack, combined with little flourishes from this millenium, and is pretty easy listening. [The 7th Voyage Of Triceratops] rounds out their discography with more of the same quality rock, although I honestly prefer their earlier stuff a tad.

Thus, the Triceratops have something for pretty much anyone, depending on what part of their career you examine. Further research is recommened for fans of J-Rock with American tendencies.