Band: Reflector
From humble beginnings 10 years ago playing warehouse gigs and passing out self-pressed demos, Reflector has earned its place in China’s punk rock elite. Back in 1997, these three self-proclaimed “Wudaokou kids,” Tian Jianhua (bass and vocals), Li Peng (guitar and vocals) and Ye Jingying (drums), formed their own band after having hearing Guns ¡®n’ Roses. They were forever emboldened to make noise and have fun doing it. Ten years later, not much has changed.

Reflector quickly became more than just a rock ¡®n’ roll daydream, cementing its position in Chinese punk history by recording eight tracks for the now legendary double disc “Wuliao Contingent” in 1999, China’s first punk rock compilation. Soon international media began picking up on the Beijing rock scene and Reflector found itself featured by CNN and Newsweek. The combination of foreign acclaim and local credibility turned them into ambassadors of Beijing punk. In 2002, after returning from a tour of the United States and some personnel changes, they recorded their debut, “Reflector,” a six song collection of ska punk anthems.

In late 2007, Reflector released Growing Up Fast on Beijing-based label Pilot Records, their first full-length album. Despite a handful of creative flourishes (the unexpected organ passage that opens the record and the a cappella introduction to “Wan’an Beijing” being standout examples), for the most part the album pounds out 11 relatively standard pop punk tunes.
Like many punk groups, though, they never make any grand claims to ingenuity. In fact, too much artistic digression from the punk path, well, just wouldn’t be very punk. In the light of such genre purism, Growing Up Fast actually is a stylistically varied statement. They openly cite Green Day and NOFX as influences, and while Reflector’s latest effort suits fans of such bands, the record has more emotion and flair than most standard pop punk acts muster in the studio. In fact, at times the songs are highly melodic and even laid-back, as with the bouncy “Tan Bai” and the curious cover of “You Are My Sunshine” where the band seems to lean more towards early Ramones than MTV.

Though far from breaking new ground, Growing Up Fast is a solid collection from stalwarts of Beijing punk. Well worth the 10 year wait.

Damon McMahon