#834.194

A colossal project from legendary J-pop all-rounders Sakanaction, 834.194 is as exquisite and faultless a collection of pop tracks you’ll find this year. Named after the kilometrical distance between their hometown in Hokkaido and their studio in Tokyo, the scale of 834.194 feels every bit as huge as that physical difference. Over the course of an hour and a half, Sakanaction endorse synth funk, electro-pop and synth pop, as well as bits of Europop, nu-disco, funk rock, pop rock, new wave and EDM.

And despite those genre variations, it’s a remarkably consistent listen. The tracks are lengthy and yet it’s nigh-impossible to pick out any instrumental missteps. Even when Sakanaction seem to tease an ugly bass drop (like ‘グッドバイ ‘), they never actually do. Every instrumental is tasteful but also bold and catchy. While some may find Yamaguchi Ichiro’s vocals a bit chintzy, they’re undeniably both impressively versatile and impeccably performed. Tracks that some would usually consider “filler” on an album like this – the remix of ‘ユリイカ’ and instrumental ‘834.194’, for example - are instead essential listens that genuinely bring something new to the disc.

At every step where one could conceivably think that 834.194 could trip-up as a pop record, instead it excels. Despite its length, the superb pacing makes it easily relistenable, and it only gets more infectious on further listens. 834.194 is a terrific record, suitable for a band of this stature and is sure to go down as Sakanaction’s defining release.

Sakanaction Lyrics: Nylon no Ito (ナイロンの糸; Nylon Threads)

Someday I'll understand that beach The way you'd wind up old, tangled threads quietly with your hands