The 'Scratch or Stitch' album was originally released as an elaborately bundled limited edition vinyl LP. Maple 'Banana-Peel sessions' have never been released.

Also in the United Kingdom, SKiN GRAFT had been able to arrange Peel Sessions for U.S Maple, and Yasuko and Agata joined in on two of the tracks. 'Scratch Or Stitch' was released in the USA and Europe in the summer of 1996 in conjunction with a co-headlining European tour with U.S. Null who would, in turn, later guest on 'Scratch Or Stitch'. Long before 'Scratch Or Stitch' was released, Melt-Banana vocalist Yasuko Onuki provided backing vocals on Yona-Kit's 'Franken-Bitch' alongside Jim O'Rourke and K.K.

The video for 'Sick Zip Everywhere' was rejected by MTV in the states, but was honored as one of the best videos of the year on MTV in the UK. Null of Zeni Geva and Jim O’Rourke ofīrise-Glace. In short? Take all of the scrabbling atonal dissonance of no wave, bathe it in the hysteria of hardcore, then rinse with the acceleration of speed metal. Here are the imported children of no waves gone by, a hardcore-informed maelstrom of experimental heart surgery - straight from the heart of Tokyo’s ferocious underground. They walk on water and effortlessly juggle all of those sharks nipping at their heels, the ones that think they’re swimming in new, unexplored territories. Out of the ashes of old, Melt-Banana sizzle and scream, slide and skitter, scratch and stitch, heralding a new wave. Remember that ashes always seem to find a place and settle. when they play there are no questions” - ALTERNATIVE PRESS “Perhaps their dense energy was was borne out of the frustration of having to go to high school six days a week.? There’s no slack in the MELT-BANANA oeuvre. One of the best bands in existence” - LOUDER “Punk in its purest form, but no “punk” that any originator of the genreĮver imagined. 'Scratch or Stitch sits among subsequent Melt-Banana releases with an air of superiority” - PITCHFORK

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