TeamTragicTalks Jpop

Suiyoubi Campanella was introduced to me by my dear friend after he ended up seeing her at a shady live in Shinjuku (?) at year or so ago. All I knew was the she was eccentric, the fans otaku, and music good.

Actually, and I often forget, Suiyoubi Campanella is a trio, which the face/vocalist being the woman you see on everything, KOM_I. However, the team definitely relies on each other. The retro and contemporary sound would be nothing with the passionate and sporadic faux-rapping of KOM_I, and vice versa.

They’re beginning to gain some traction in the Japanese scene a bit more these days, but they still remain relatively unknown to the general public.

The Good

“ジャンヌダルク” speaks to me because it’s basically a bunch of transportation announcements as you go on a tour. Oh those horrible long bus trips to Tokyo, I shall never forget you.

Shoutout to the last third of “チャイコフスキー <Interlude -ラモス->” and it’s demonic vocal arrangement. Chaotic, yet amazing. Seems they ended up going in more of an experimental direction like this after 私を鬼ヶ島に連れてって.

“インカ” is a Suiyoubi ballad. Trust me. The tribal beats and Indian (?) influences are strong, but subdued at the same time. A nice balance of keeping things busy, but mellow at the same time. Not something easily accomplished.

The Bad

Nothing is bad. Suiyoubi doesn’t know bad.

The Tragic

“桃太郎” is tragic because it’s a telling of the classic tale of Momotaro. Except weirdly current, gritty, and a lot harder than you remember as a child. All you need to do is watch the amazing PV to understand (Google is your friend, as I’m too lazy to link it).

The song is amazing though! The chorus ridiculously catchy and KOM_I’s vocal delivery like that of a melodic storytelling. Never have I wanted a kibidango more in my life than after discovering this gem.

×××

This might be the last month that TTT continues to exist! As the other two are still catching up… well at least one of them… and I’m currently packing up five years of my life and moving back to the States to start anew.

Hopefully our two readers aren’t disappointed and who knows, we may live on!

As the well known Tetsuya Komuro stan of Team Tragic, I was never a big fan of Ami Suzuki despite being already familiarized with her early stuff. The one exception being her sole dance single from her early days, the ever-tragtastic “All night long”. For the most part her first three albums are full of the 90s TK filler trash that made his career as a producer nearly stall in the 00s. It wasn’t until her 2005 comeback AROUND THE WORLD where she reinvented herself as a dance pop diva that I became a fan. However her many single releases in the following years would prove to be more of the lackluster of old.

After a string of many “joins” singles where Ami collaborated with many well known artists and producers she finally struck gold by working with Nakata Yasutaka who has a penchant for bringing the best out of personality-less starlets (see Perfume, capsule, why it didn’t work with MEG). She would go on to record a full album with him and the ridiculously fabulous Supreme Show was born!

The good -  The second I played this album for the first time and my ears were graced with the joy of “TEN” I couldn’t stop screaming YAAAASSSSS and z snapping for a good minute. This track gets the party started immediately with its 80s-synths-by-way-of-the-00s, galloping house beat and Ami’s vocals extremely processed as they should be. And then we hit the chorus which is peppered with the Stock Aitken Waterman signature wood block and clappers percussion which instantly makes me envision Kylie Minogue and Pete Burns dancing poorly to it. Even friends I have who aren’t into Jpop get instantly drawn into this track and furthermore into the album as a whole thanks to its catchiness. Definitely my fav of the bunch. An added bonus is all the positive English one word phrases littered through out as basically none of them apply to Ami’s career!

“can't stop the DISCO” won me over the moment I saw the title but it’s actually a fantastic 80s high energy disco moment. Which is funny because the vocals are actually quite laid back and cool. The Moroder arpeggiator and rocking beat cemented my standom for Yasutaka Nakata and he hasn’t let me down much over the years since this album. The song holds true to its title by pulling a Confessions on a Dancefloor and seguing seemlessly into the follwing two tracks. It’s amazing and adds to the appeal of the album but it’s actually just the entire “can't stop the DISCO” single and b-sides pasted on to the album after the opening track lol. Well if it ain’t broke...

Though I do tend to forget it as it’s tacked on as the album closer, I do have a fondness for “ONE” as it was the last Ami song for a while that actually sounded like Ami as most of the Supreme Show tracks sound like Nakata + any singer he’s used ever. It does serve well as the last track though as it brings back the high energy and hard beat of the earlier tracks and closes the album on a positive note. If only Ami’s career would have been so lucky post this release.

Also must add an honorable mention to “LOVE MAIL” as one of my favorite album tracks which very well could have been a single. It’s got that great summery, 00s Euro-disco vibe that channels Kylie’s “Love at First Sight” without sounding exactly like it. We’ll leave that to Nana Katase. Of course we all know the tragedy that was Ami covering “Can’t Get You Out of My Head” years later. :D

The bad - While I do consider this album pretty flawless from beginning to end (did I actually just say that about an Ami album?!) if it came to a case of “if I had to pick one” as it generally does on TTT, I’d have to choose “flower” with its b-side realness. It serves well calming the energy down before its bombastic closer and Ami’s vocals actually do sound beautiful and serene despite the vocal distortion. However the first few times I listened to the album I thought it was a countdown from “TEN” to “ONE” (which actually would have been quite clever) until I realized there were eleven tracks! Maybe that’s why poor little “flower” gets targeted by me.

The tragic -  From the second it begins in the “can't stop the DISCO” trio you can just tell “climb up to the top” is going to be uber-trag. From its trashy hard synths and tacky percussion samples to Ami’s chipmunk Vocaloid realness, it’s all just a fabulous shitfest. And of course the joke at the time was that Ami was indeed desperately trying to climb up to the top with this album which she clearly did not. Still this track is a great club-thumping addition which again segues seamlessly into the one and only...

“SUPER MUSIC MAKER”!!! This song has always been a TTT favorite because of its instant catchiness and super singalong ability. Plus we all clearly love and respect Ami. Right from the “Baba O’Riley”-esque arpeggiator opening I was hooked. Though I do like the original single version from her previous album Dolce, when this remix was added to the “can't stop the DISCO” single I hoped it would be included in the album and it eventually was. Of course some people saw this as a desperate move but it was a Nakata single after all and the original was overshadowed by its main A-side “FREE FREE”. Eduardo and I were disappointed that it wasn’t re-recorded as the theme for Super Mario Maker when it was released, missed opportunity! However I do still catch myself singing it even now that I’ve got back into playing it thanks to the Hello Kitty/My Melody pack.

I also love how tragique the segue from “A token of love” into “TRUE” is! We go from vogue worthy synth rhythms and melancholic robot vocals into soft, melodic Jpop dance within a matter of seconds and again, it’s all so effortless and perfect.

My one stipulation in choosing the inevitable Yasutaka Nakata month for TTT was that someone had to nominate Supreme Show since I was obvs choosing Perfume or Kyary. Thankfully Edu obliged (I blame “SUPER MUSIC MAKER”) and here we are reveling in all its tragicness. Though we will forever clown Ami for being the Dannii Minogue of Jpop (who’s that? Exactly...) we all do have a soft spot for her so it’s nice we got to discuss one of her releases that wasn’t total shit. In fact I’d even go so far as to say it’s my favorite Nakata-produced album and one of my favorite Jpop albums ever. I wouldn’t change a note of it, not even “flower”. 

I think this review is finished? I don’t know, but I’m just going to post it.

Oh Perfume. I’ve never understood your success completely having been a casual fan all these years, but people seem to love them unconditionally. Although their popularity has waned in Japan since I’ve been here.

Always a bit hit or miss, I guess what we’re talking about here more than anything is Yasutaka Nakata (again). The girls are the image and personality, but we’re digesting the album, not their overall aesthetic.

The Good

“1mm”

There’s something very chill about “1mm”. I can’t quite explain it. Maybe it’s the minimalistic intro that sets up the mood. Actually, this song gets quite busy and loud, but in the same way that MEG’s BEAUTIFUL did. You end up loving it.

“Party Maker”

Typical Nakata club banger that must be on every album, but I’m not complaining. Slightly biased here as I attended the Christmas Eve dome live when this album was released and I got my life to the girls voguing it up on scaffolding while lights flashed.

“Spring of Life (Album-mix)”

The tame “Party Marker”. Also, a fine example of how essentially an extended mix with a bit of a harder sound can rework a rather generic song. This went from forgettable single to guilty pleasure anthem.

“Handy Man”

The Middle Eastern strings or whatever they are make this song amazing! “Handy Man” was definitely the first thing that stood out to me when I gave LEVEL3 its first spin. Something a fresh from Nakata.

The Bad

“Spending all my time (Album-mix)”

Irritating. I seem to remember this single getting quite a bit of backlash from the fans too, but I could be mistaken. Or maybe that was “Spring of Life”?

The Tragic

“だいじょばない”

Irritating, but in a good way. The difference between this and “Spending all my time” is that the arrangement makes up for the repetitive, ear bleeding vocals. This is catchy, the former is not.

“未来のミュージアム”

Someone mistagged this Kyary track, right? I mean, I get it girls. She’s young, fresh, and was still semi-relevant in 2013, but let’s not try to imitate. It’s sad when you’re supposed to be the OG. I mean, look at Madonna’s latest releases.

×××

LEVEL 3 is the type of album where you go, “Okay, thanks for that.” It’s not bad, but certainly not memorable. Things seem to be going downhill for the group from here though as Nakata runs low on steam and, although experimenting more with his other acts, falls short on trends and doesn’t create ones like he used to.

It’ll be interesting to see where Perfume’s career goes and if the girl start branching off into other sectors. Kyary has already been doing that since she’s well aware her career has a stop watching hovering over it.

I’m far too lazy to look up any information about Karly, so I’m sure Eduardo will tell me that so and so producers her and my review is invalid, etc. However, DANCE MUSIC reminds me of something Pizzicato Five would have put out back when Shibuya-kei was relevant and not horrible EDM.

Okay, I actually like some EDM, but yeah...

The Good

Things are off to a good start with “BOOMBASTIC HIP HOUSE BAND”. The English adlib and hot mess sampling pretty much set up the entire album.

Although “G.T.O.” is basically just 女の子たち repeated over and over, it’s the instrumental and mixing that makes it really stand apart from a lot of the other tracks. The guitar (?) is annoying and overdone, but to the point where it sounds good. The vocal delay later on too is a nice touch. A simple track that becomes more complex by reusing a few elements.

“GIRLS IN LOVE” is fun and also a bit of a standout. It’s high energy, but the soft vocals repeating the title as somewhat soothing. My body doesn’t know if it wants to bounce around the room or take a sip a tea. Maybe both?

The Bad

Don’t hate me, but I really don’t like the faux Donna Summer sample in “FMSB”. It sounds half assed and uninspired. Also, a song called “Funky Monkey Sexy Baby” is more suited for Karie, not Karly.

The Tragic

I listened to this album for the first time while doing other things around my place, but when “東京は夜の七時” came on I couldn’t help but find it familiar for some reason. Then the iconic chorus came in and I melted. This is a great cover of the Pizzicato Five anthem, with enough variety to make it stand apart from the original, at least in terms of production. The vocals are similar to Maki’s, but that’s not an issue.

Why is this under tacky Patrick?

Well, if you’re doing a Shibuya-kei album that’s already heavily similar to Pizzicato Five a good part of the time, do you really need a cover of their most recognizable track?

×××

To my surprise, I really enjoyed this album. I guess I went into it not really knowing what to expect, but even so, DANCE MUSIC ended up being rather refreshing.

DANCE MUSIC isn’t something you come back to in spurts. You need to listen to the album in its entirety. It’s an experience from beginning to end.

While I did debate between my obvious favs Perfume and Kyary Pamyu Pamyu for Nakata month I ultimately chose the kawaii queen Kyary! The main reason I chose her sophomore release  なんだこれくしょん over her debut with more recognized singles is that it was released around the same time I saw her live in LA a few years back. Hands down, it was the most fun I’ve ever had at a concert before or since. Everyone in attendance was unabashed in their love of kawaii culture even at the dismay of literally thousands of Lakers fans attending a game nearby at LA Live. Kyary definitely carries the Jpop culture crown internationally for the YouTube generation so I thought it would be a good idea for TTT to pay tribute to her.

The good - “にんじゃりばんばん” really reinvigorated my interest in Kyary since she hadn’t had a good dance track in a while. Apparently most fans felt that way since it was the most popular release from this album. The fusion of traditional Japanese elements with Kyary’s signature kawaii pop seems obvious but it’s oh so brilliant. The pv does nothing but tie the package together with ninja and meiko Kyary surrounded by sakura and koi. My favorite memory of her live show was the audience clapping along to the “bang bang” part, so much so that I still do it (as well as the choreography :D) every time I hear the song.

“ファッションモンスタ” is a Halloween themed pop rock track invoking Tommy heavenly6, particularly her Soul Eater theme song days. Of course “fashion monster” also recalls Kyary’s status as a kowa-kawaii icon. Its wacky, manic pacing is again offset well by the video imagery. Kyary, playing an odd, guitar shaped musical contraption is joined by a plethora of Tim Burton meets Sebastian Masuda characters come to life. Again, simple yet perfect concept. 

As an classic pop junkie, “キミに100パーセント” is actually my favorite track on the album. I love how it’s a 60s pop track by way of 80s Jpop idol reinvented for the Instagram generation. How many decade pop references can you fit into one track? Never too many as far as I’m concerned. This is a cutesy sing a long track so I can understand why it didn’t fly as well with her overseas fans as other themed Kyary singles. But throw in a Shin-chan anime tie in and I’m sold!

The bad - I actually don't mind “のりことのりお” so much but ai suppose I have to dislike something. It's actually kinda funny and would pass as a typical album track for some of the pretentia queens we've already reviewed. The song is like a drunken karaoke singalong which gives it a certain charm particularly the out of tune chorus. The only problem I have with it really is that it drags on for a bit too long before losing my attention and I find myself itching to hit skip. 

Similarly “くらくら” reminds me of the more forgettable tracks from her first album and mini album. The massive repetition quickly becomes more annoying than quirky and charming. I do think the two aforementioned tracks certainly have a place on a Kyary release but find it funny that the two shortest songs on the album seem to go on for an eternity.

The tragic - “インベーダーインベーダー” is just a mess on so many levels! I mean give me a UFO themed dance video any day but conceptually the song is all over the place even for Kyary. The trendy/already dated dubstep interpolation is just plain sad especially when I saw her perform it live and try to look cool during those parts. :D And then we have the blatant clothing store tie in in the lyrics that thankfully went right over the heads of foreign fans. Overall I enjoy this song but it’s definitely not among my favorites on the album. Could have been executed better in hindsight. 

“み” is another ridiculous Kyary track but I actually find this one entertaining. Opening with tribal drum chants it quickly devolves into Kyary dance pop zaniness. It’s repetitive and slightly annoying but in a fun way that injects some energy into the album.  

“さいごのアイスクリーム” is probably my favorite non-single musically however I feel in this case the silly lyrics mar the song. It’s a high energy pop track that hearkens the golden days of 80s and early 90s Jpop. This type of track would have been better suited to positive, uplifting lyrics but in true Kyary style we’re left with a song about… ice cream. I feel if this were a Tommy february6 track she would have at least found a clever way to portray how ice cream is inspiring. But instead we are left with this disjointed power pop gem that I pretend is not about tasty treats for once.

FFA! What have we dug up from the depths of our libraries to make each other’s ears bleed this time?

野本かりあ DANCE MUSIC 2007

Perfume LEVEL3 2013

It’s late May and we haven’t finished April reviews, so it was only natural our project manager Patty threw out the question the other day: is Team Tragic Talks dead? Even though I haven’t given it the time it deserves, I’m not ready to let it go! So here I am, writing a really cursory review of Kyary Pamyu Pamy’s なんだこれくしょん. I’ll do the noob thing and review song by song as I listen.

なんだこれくしょん - This actually starts kind of interesting, with tribalesque beats that quickly degenerate into Kyary’s trademark cute circus sound. For an intro, it’ll do.

にんじゃりばんばん - There’s some chiptune here mixed with Arab-inspired sounds in the intro, before a more or less typical house beat kicks in to hold Kyary’s usual sing-song delivery and repetitive lyrics. It’s not unpleasant and it shows that Nakata can pull a few more sonic tricks here and there. But I’m halfway through the song and I feel like I’ve already heard everything it had to offer.

キミに100パーセント - This starts all peppy and cute, and I expect it to stay like this. Somehow it reminds me of SAWA’s most girly tracks. It’s kind of a toe-tapping good time, kind of idolesque but kind of cute. Even at 3:21 it feels a little long, and I get the feeling already that most of these tracks have no business being 4-5 minutes long.

Super Scooter Happy - Speaking of, this one’s almost 6 minutes long. It kind of harkens back to capsules Shibuya-ripoff days with its breezy, easy-listening vibe. Oh, it actually is a capsule cover? I’m really tempted to skip ahead and see if something different happens in the next five minutes or if Nakata will just take this track’s single idea and drag it on longer than any other track on the album. (Five minutes later) Nope, I don’t think so. I actually got distracted and don’t remember if anything different happened.

インベーダーインベーダー - I can already tell I hate this and don’t want to write about it. It’s like… cute-dubstep or something? I don’t know, I’m not into this one.

み - More tribal beats. It’s kind of like a soccer stadium celebration, which isn’t bad. Little vuvuzela flourishes and everything, and a repetitive chorus straight from the [REDACTED] school of lyric writing*. Actually all the lyrics are repetitive. I mean it’s OK, it’s a fun song but you know, it sounds like something you drop a minute of in the middle of your DJ set just to be super weird and cute. But probably one of my favorite beats in the album.

*Redacted because I don’t want her zillions of fans descending on this blog lol… but she slay, all day.

ファッションモンスター - Maybe doing a track-by-track review was a mistake. Anyway, this is… rock? Oh no wait it’s more club beats… Hmm this is kind of all over the place, which at least keeps it interesting. I kind of like the more pared down parts that sound like indy rock house. That’s pretty novel for Kyary, I think?

さいごのアイスクリーム - This organ intro is completely out of the left field. I wonder what kind of weird track this’ll be! Oh wait. It’s more house beats. Will the organ come back? Only one way to find out. So far it’s not a bad track though, pretty bouncy and she sounds like SAWA again, which can only be a compliment considering how childish she sounds half the time. She needs to back off singing about ice cream, though, or Tommy will cut her. OK the organ never came back.

のりことのりお - OMG another super annoying repetitive song. Slow your roll. Although the dissonance is kind of amusing, like she’s drunk. Actually I guess this is a prime example of “let’s make something that is objectively horribly sung, because it’s the musical equivalent of seeing a helpless newborn fawn try to walk.” I can dig it. Again, this is the kind of song you put in your mix CDs… err playlists just to be like “look at this whacky Japanese shit!” Yeah, I can dig it.

ふりそでーしょん - OMG AGAIN! Just repeat every other word, Kyary. We don’t mind. Getting more early capsule vibes and you know, in a way this sounds more like an actual song than a lot of other endless loops that make it on Kyary/Nakata albums.

くらくら - I’m just hoping for this to be over and am tuning out this track. More kind of toylike/children’s music from Kyary. GUYS WHERE ARE THE BORING BALLADS? I can’t believe it but this bitch’s got me yearning for them. At least this track was around the right length.

おとななこども - OK finally we’re here. Ugh OK I guess this is what passes for a Kyary ballad. It’s definitely a little more low key. That piano is straight out of a 90s house anthem. This track somewhat serves PERFUME, doesn’t it? Anyway I guess this is the sugary comedown from the rest of the album and even though I just said I wanted a ballad … it feels a little forced. Why not just end crazy? The whole album was crazy so why try to show “range” here?

Anyway, I don’t know if I’ll hold on to this album but it was at least interesting and for sure Nakata drops some better tricks here than on capsule albums. He really needs to work on tying his intros to the rest of the song, because he excels at the former and falls flat at 90% of the latter.

What do I know about this duo? Absolutely nothing!

I think the female rapper/vocalist is from TOKYO GIRL’S STYLE, one of the only recent idol groups I can tolerate for some reason. That’s all!

Don’t remember how I came across them or anything.

The Good

The album starts off a bit fun with “よっしゃっしゃっすREMIX”, with Cypress Ueno’s more serious rapping pleasantly contrasting obvious lighthearted newcomer Yuri Nakae’s parts. Plus the song is super catchy without being annoying.

“SO.RE.NA” and the SWG REMIX are solid tracks. “SO.RE.NA” is a fresh, poppier rap number that does the whole retro thing without sounding like it was from the late 90s. Yes, Japan’s rap game was a bit behind those days.

The remix brings something a bit different to the mix too, giving the listener a choppier, electronic experience. A nice way to close the album, on a different, but still cohesive note.

“WE GOTTA GO” is my chill jam! Reminds me of something from Sweet Vacation’s final proper album before they disappeared, except with rap.

The Bad

“HGB” is trying a bit too hard to be a credible rap battle song or something along those lines, but I’m not buying it. Maybe there’s a video to accompany this, but until I see it, “HGB” just seems like a poser.

Then again, I guess the whole album is doing that, right?

The Tragic

“Too Shy Boy” is basically a TGS track. At first, with a title like that, I thought it was going to be a TRF cover or something, but I don’t believe it is. However, it could definitely pass off as one!

×××

I think a certain someone may have misunderstood what was meant by rap month. Namie’s speaking-singing and a bunch of rent-a-rappers doesn’t count. Alas, there’s nothing that can be done at this point...

When I was a Namie fan for a hot minute years ago, I listened to WHEN POP HITS THE FAN. However, I never got into it and ignored it ever since. Now it’s back to haunt me.

The album isn’t bad (I saw with the longest groan in my head), but it’s painfully generic. The production one point most of the time, as Avex has always poured money into Namie, but she brings nothing to the project and could have been replaced with anyone. Give me Yamada Yu on vocals and I’d be happier. At least she can dance. #shade

Also, WHEN POP HITS THE FAN has not aged well at all, much like a lot of Namie’s older material. That’s what happens when you jump on trends though.

***

The more I listen to this crap, the more I love it because it’s so basic. Ugh, this is why I hate Namie...

The Good

“What's on your mind feat. XBS” is a decent opener. Namie aside, XBS’ bit go good with the harder beats. There’s a nice balance between Namie’s whisper-singing and his rapping, making the track listenable.

I’m going to be petty and say that I love “segway”! Too bad it didn’t really segway into “DAMN FIGHT” at all.

“WHAT IF feat. VERBAL (m-flo)” is again, generic, my favorite thing to say this review, but it’s still more interesting than some of the other tracks. The faux Middle Eastern thing going on stands out and VERBAL’s raps more like he used to back in the day. Less Kanye West and more speedy Twista. I approve.

Oh yeah, Namie was on backing vocals too, wasn’t she?

Now onto the single “"Uh Uh,,,,,," feat. AI”. Even Namie is rapping in this one! Praise be.

Okay, so I legit like this track and I’m not a big fan of AI. This could have shown up on STYLE, which is a very good thing. Besides the groans here and there, the song doesn’t sound as dated as others and the middle 8 (right?) during AI’s main rap is warmly welcomed. She could lose the sexy moans though. They come off as forced.

The Bad

“We got time”... to record a million backing tracks of Namie humming to cover up the lack of singing and generic lyrics! This barely counts as a rap track too with VERBAL’s minimal appearance. For whatever reason, he’s not even given a featuring credit when he is on a later track.

If Parallel was asked to do a track for Namie and then told his intern to do it instead, you’d get “DAMN FIGHT”. It’s basically a lazy “FUNKY TOWN” to some extent. The attempting to be funky beat wants to trick the listener into caring, but one still can’t be bothered.

The Tragic

“ain’t yours” sounds like a TK R&B number. That “ain’t” a good thing. This song can’t figure out if it’s fake rap, R&B, country, or some sort of 60s flute mess.

×××

As a whole album, WHEN POP HITS THE FAN is relatively well thought out, despite what my critique of some of the tracks might imply. However, it’s still rather bland. The tracks don’t stand out on their own and the album drags on after a while.

Have we reviewed Namie before? I can’t remember, but our 2.4 readers should know by now that I’m pretty biased against her, so take my “review” for what you may.

Is this really rap? That’s what I found myself asking pretty early, but to be fair, I guess a majority of it is. I guess when I think of the genre, something more upbeat like the tracks found on HALCALI’s 音樂ノススメ don’t necessarily come to mind.

I’ve dabbled in HALCALI’s work a bit here and there in the past, but nothing ever stuck. So I was a bit skeptical going into this month, but knew anything would be better than WHEN POP HITS THE FAN.

Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed this release. I think it was the perfect time to listen to it with the weather warming up a bit. Overall, the album is pleasantly cohesive, with a nice summer vibe. I’d take a long drive down the highway to nowhere listening to this.

The Good

“フワフワ・ブランニュー” is basically city pop with a rap thrown over it. Since I’ve been feeling hitomitoi’s material in the last few years, it was no surprise I gravitated toward this track. However, whereas hitomitoi is 100% chill, HALCALI liven things up a bit here, making for a good opening track.

“ストロベリーチップス” reminds me of folk, or maybe even Japanese shoegaze (who knows, I don’t listen to the stuff) music. Oddly though, I really like it. The song is light and fun, with a catchy melody and chorus. I found myself humming along pretty quickly.

The same can be said for “晴れ時ドキ”. Maybe I’ve been living in the inaka too long, but there’s something uplifting about a lot of these songs. They give me hope. What for, I have no idea. Also, I can’t get enough of the guitar used in the song, especially near the end.

After an odd two tracks (see below), things go back to what I had grown use to with “芝生”. Sure, it’s a bit more of the same, but at the same time not. I get more of a dream pop vibe from the track.

Okay, I’m going to harp on a few oddball tracks later on, but “BABY BLUE!” is my jam! Somehow it works with the album. It doesn’t try to be as out there as “OBOROGE COPY VIEW” nor as cliché as “若草DANCE”.

The Bad

Hmmm… I really don’t think “OBOROGE COPY VIEW” and “HISTORY” are bad, but I have two issues with them. First, they totally out of place. As I mentioned before, there’s a sort of countryside quality to 音樂ノススメ  that I really enjoy. These two songs disturb the flow.

Also, I would have liked it better if they were flipped, when “HISTORY” leading into “OBOROGE COPY VIEW” instead of the other way around. Maybe they would have been better at the end of the album now that I think about it.

I’m not crazy about “伝説の2人”. Whereas the rest of the album goes for this casual laid back vibe that I could see the farmers listening to as they till their rice field, “伝説の2人” get too country on us, going all the way to the American Midwest. Slow down HALCALI, we aren’t finished with our harvest. Save it for another time.

The Tragic

Disco track on an otherwise mellow album? Sure, come on in “若草DANCE”. The disco influence should be enough explanation for the track’s placement here. Was the guest rap too embarrassed to have his name featured on the track? It would surprise me…

All that aside, of course I enjoy “若草DANCE”, but like with “OBOROGE COPY VIEW” and friend, it doesn’t belong here.

×××

Is it odd that 音樂ノススメ  makes me want to listen to Katamari Damacy soundtracks? I feel like they follow a similar vibe, only with HALCALI bringing a heavier rap element as opposed to strictly singing.

I really thought I was going to hate this album since I never gave this duo a chance before, but I found myself putting the album on repeat for a couple of spins daily before writing this. 音樂ノススメ makes good background music, but is also good if you’re paying attention.

Before CONTINUE, MEG’s previous releases consisted of a novelty single be it fashion or anime related followed up by a coinciding and admittedly underwhelming novelty album. So when she released dual singles involving both an 8-bit flash game and a zombie/survival horror theme you’d think I’d be prepared for an ensuing related album right? Well, CONTINUE didn’t exactly live up to what I’d been hoping for with it’s digital sprite dress album cover but over time I’ve realized I’m glad it didn’t. In fact I think it may even be my favorite MEG album concept overall so I decided to do a track by track synopsis. Because you know, I don’t have 8 more reviews to finish in the next 3 weeks.

“prologue” - This intro takes me back to first getting into JRPGs on Super Nintendo and then later Game Boy Advance. It sounds exactly as the opening to one of those set to a background showing the villains and protagonists of the game battling in various scenarios. Brilliant concept!

“旅立ちの歌” - I have to say I was a little disappointed in this as the first vocal track. Of course leave it to MEG to come out of left field with a ballad opener for no good reason. I suppose it does serve as a back story for our video game adventurer but it feels more like a paralogue to the main story that would have been better appreciated elsewhere on the album.

“SAVE” - After a seeming eternity (5 mins) we finally get into the meat and potatoes of the album with the jittery and adventurous first single. This is where the video game concept really begins and I can envision 16-bit sprites battling each other with sub par fire and ice graphics summoned from digital tomes.

“ハナレタイノハ…” - This song probably surprised me the most of the entire set because it is the JAM! It’s a smooth, dance r&b-ish number that I wasn’t expecting even though it’s something MEG is well capable of. However during the verses I can imagine some kind of tragic, lovelorn gazes being shared between a male and female character during an extended cutscene cause that’s kind of a given in Japanese video games these days.

“WE LIVE, WE LOVE” - And now we’re thrown right back into full on 16-bit mode. I hear this as the theme song as your party is journeying to some far off locale but in the meantime you’re wandering across forests and fields grinding to level up but finding out more about each other along the way.

“君が為” - This is a nice rock number thrown in for good measure because Jpop that’s why. I do feel it has a legitimate place on the album though. I see this as a followup to the previous track where now your party is learning to work as a team to defeat larger monsters but there are still some kinks to work out. But you know everything will work out in the end as long as you persevere and grow stronger cause that’s the Japanese solution to everything,

“宇宙のMON DIEU” - So now your team reaches a major baddy or so you think by the somewhat creepy opening until your greeted by some strange, flamboyant character who is likely a bad Japanese stereotype of a homosexual or transgender person with purple or white hair who suddenly bursts into a 70s Queen soundalike. Of course you eventually all agree that despite his odd characteristics he could prove to be a formidable ally and invite him to join you on your quest.

“KISS OR BITE” - After leaving your new friend’s creepy, baroque mansion you’re left to fend your way through a zombie infested forest that no doubt surrounds it. When this song was first released I was surprised how much I legitimately enjoyed it as a musician instead of just a fan of MEG’s novelty songs. Despite the trendy electronica and pastiche scream samples this is actually a great dance pop track. The lyrics do nothing but synergize the strength of the musical arrangement. Even to this day this is my jam each time I hear it. Eieeeen niiiiiiiii!!!!!!!!!!

“くるみ割り” - Exiting the zombie forest with barely any HP you tip toe around a strange, whimsical village looking for a place to heal/have a good meal and rest. However you are met with a strange group of people who make you unsure if they’re friends or foes.

“clair de lune” - Eventually you make your way out of the village and your party sets up camp outside in a field. It’s a clear, full moon lit night. You reflect on everything you’ve lost along the way and prepare yourselves for the last stretch of the journey and the final battle that awaits you.

“A BATTLE OF PARADOX” - Probably my second favorite track after the obvious. This is EXACTLY what I would think of when it comes to final boss music. The building, the conflict and the ultimate climax, it’s all there. Again this song makes use of dubstep/electronic trends without overusing them and making the song fall into throwaway pop territory. The incorporation of strings as well gives this finale such a modern take on traditional Japanese video game music.The tension keeps building through out until at last you are victorious!

“CONTINUE” - This is obviously the post game number. The credits begin rolling and we see what has become of the many colorful characters who have joined us along the way. Lastly we are brought back to you, the main character, but the question is - what will you do next? Where do you go from here? Will you... CONTINUE?

We’re doing rap for May because why not? Even we like to step outside our comfort zone from time to time.

SUITE CHIC WHEN POP HITS THE FAN 2003

HALCALI 音樂ノススメ 2004

Okay, so I’m immediately biased when it comes to WAVE RUNNER because I went to one of the album release parties in Osaka when it came out. The show was amazing if you don’t mind pre-recorded vocals, lasers, smoke guns, and can ignore the ignorant foreigners who don’t understand that concert etiquette is way different in Japan.

Fire up your iPhone, put on your overpriced Beats by Dre, and don’t forget your cheapest H&M silver blazer. It’s going to be one of those nights.

The Good

It’s been a long time since I enjoyed the title track of a CAPSULE album. I think I like “Wave Runner” because it’s short. Also, I’ve found that other title tracks from the past few albums are always oddballs that don’t represent the album at all. “Wave Runner” is a good indication of what you’re getting into. In fact, I wouldn’t mind if it was a bit longer.

“Dreamin’ Boy” is definitely my favorite from the album. I love the cliché beat switch or whatever it’s called (I’m not the technical member of TTT if you haven’t noticed by this point). A strong example of how Nakata can take minimal, repetitive lyrics, and make something magical. He never seemed to pull it off as well with MEG for whatever reason, but we all know What’s Her Face doesn’t do anything either.

Every time I listen to “Hero” and the (maybe) sample, I can’t help but go back in time to when everyone and their grandma was sampling Roxanne. That’s a good thing, I think! Pretty much a club banger and not much else, “Hero” does its job and does it well. I can’t complain.

“Unrequited Love” is a good mix of previous CAPSULE efforts, minus CAPS LOCK, but updated to match their current mainstream EDM sound. Not too familiar, not too trendy. I especially like the middle eight.

Finally, “White As Snow” is another favorite of mine because you know what you’re getting from the start. Instead of building up, the beat is brought in hard, only to slow down a bit. What is What’s Her Face saying? Who knows, but the slowdown and drawn out vocals are a nice change of pace as the album draws to a close.

Mind numbing beats after What’s Her Face’s segments is always a plus too.

**head bangs**

The Bad

“Another World” is what I was talking about when I mentioned the title track from previous CAPSULE albums being a bit out of touch with the rest of the album. This is definitely the mainstream single Nakata wanted and it shows in its lack of originality. It’s basically the last few singles released by the group. Reminds me too much of “WORLD OF FANTASY”, only slightly updated.

Seems “Depth (vocal dub mix)” was originally produced for a movie or something, which would explain why it feels so out of place here. Is it bad? Hmmm, maybe not, but I don’t want it here and it seems tacked on. Except they decided to throw it in the middle of the album?! Just rather boring.

The remix of “Dreamin’ Boy” (yes, I’m reviewing the deluxe edition, see below) sounds like it wanted to go back to the days of pretentious Shibuya-kei capsule, all lowercase because caps were just too uncool for them back then. However, it falls short and sounds messy.

The Tragic

I told myself that I wouldn’t be reviewing the deluxe edition of WAVE RUNNER, but that remix of “Dancing Planet” featuring VERBAL is too bad to pass up. A clear attempt to capitalize on the “zero fucks given” culture of today’s youth, yes Eduardo, even I’m not that young anymore, it comes off as sad. VERBAL is clearly past his prime age-wise and musically, grasping at straws at this point.

×××

Is WAVE RUNNER CAPSULE’s best work? Honestly, I have no idea. Do they have any album that can you say, “Perfection”? WORLD OF FANTASY came close for me, but that opening track didn’t cut it.

WAVE RUNNER is definitely one of their more cohesive efforts, although I agree with Eduardo when he said they did that better with CAPS LOCK, albeit not the best thing they’ve put out.

Want to bang your head to some well produced EDM trash? Then this is the album for you. If you’re looking for substance, then you probably shouldn’t be bothering with CAPSULE at all. Upper or lowercase.

Also, praise be to Toshinokoshinakayasuka… What’s Her Face!

Give a man a few notes and he’ll make one hit song. Teach him to use an arpeggiator and he’ll… produce SUPREME SHOW? Ami Suzuki’s SUPREME SHOW encapsulates (see what I did there?) mid-period Yasutaka Nakata pretty perfectly: catchy intros that give every song a distinct musical identity but don’t necessarily do great as full-length songs. Sometimes this works out really well, as it did with “FREE FREE” which became an instant classic. Sometimes, well, it doesn’t work quite as well and we have SUPREME SHOW.

The good – Two of my favorite moments in the album actually have the worst intros. “TEN” starts with a tacky, semi-Latin synth above the typical 4/4 beat but it picks up when Ami starts chanting nonsense and a little 80s synth bubbles in the space between her “lyrics.” “SUCCESS! SETBACK! CHALLENGE! EXPERIENCE.” It’s hilarious how Nakata makes her recite words so random it makes it seem like neither of them know what’s going on. And yet I kind of love this song.

Meanwhile “ONE” starts with a fade in and to be honest, the first minute or so always tempts me to skip the track. Pretty soon it picks up to a stomping neo-disco beat that gives way to a pretty dancey bridge. The bridge is so good it makes the chorus actually make sense. (Nakata kind of did this too in MEG’s “MAGIC,” in which the chorus sounds really bad at the start but a lot better when it’s set up after the first bridge. Actually I’m not convinced “ONE” isn’t just a gussied up cover of “MAGIC.”)

Probably my favorite song is “A token of love,” which starts with a cool skipping-record effect before going into full-blown Moroder gallop (or, more likely, Confessions emulation). No matter. Actually making the intro sound like a skipping vinyl gives the usual repetitiveness of a Nakata song a little more depth, like this whole thing is alluding to the heyday of disco. It’s funny that the looping sample gives “A token of love” that disco-soul feeling that completely evaded my least favorite song on the album (see below).

The bad – Most of the album passes by you like an especially thumping bit of ambient noise, but “SUPER MUSIC MAKER (SA’08S/A Mix)” is pretty egregious. It not only eviscerates the fun-packed original, it turns it into some sort of disco-soul mess that doesn’t even go with what the rest of the album is trying to do.

The tragic – “can’t stop the DISCO” and “climb up to the top” began life on the same EP as the “SUPER MUSIC MAKER” remix (basically they plopped an EP in the middle of the album), which taken together really raise your blood tragic levels. The little synth flutter at the beginning of “can’t stop the DISCO” sounds like you’re watching TV and the screen starts shimmering as we go to flashback, and it’s so fabulous when it comes back for the outro. Meanwhile “climb up to the top” starts with a quasi-tribal drumbeat supporting Ami’s best orgasmic pants and sighs that soon enough makes way for some Hi-NRG synths and more Ami shouting nonsense.

As you can imagine, I can’t get enough of either of those tracks.

Though it’s high time one of us nominated a Towa Tei release it’s no surprise at all it came from Eduardo. Being a 90s trag pop aficionado I of course first knew of Towa Tei through Deee-Lite and their debut World Clique I often borrowed and overplayed from an aunt of mine. However it was his 1997 collab with Kylie Minogue “G.B.I. (German Bold Italic)” that had Kylie take the role of a sentient type font that made me a follower of his eccentric musical style. While I’ve longed to review one of his albums since TTT began am I excited to review such a current release as opposed to one of his classics? Well there’s no way I couldn’t love an album titled CUTE right? Right?

The good - On the first few listens I couldn’t understand why “FLUKE” was chosen as the first track other than to be pretentious and annoying. You know, like Edu and all his interests. However after getting a pretty good feel for the album as a whole I believe it makes complete sense with its jittery percussiveness and lack of melody as the perfect opening instrumental track to “TOP NOTE”.

Having been the leader of the drumline all four years in high school (Random Chrissy fact #59862) “TOP NOTE” really takes me back to the days of creating and practicing drum cadences after school until the sun set. I might be slightly biased towards this track as the few vocal samples and quirky instrumentation do remind me a bit of GBI. But beyond that what really draws me in are the constant playing on rhythm and tonation. On the surface the song appears to be going through constant key changes when in reality Towa is distorting the tonation of the entire track repeatedly. That or he’s using about 50 cymbal samples. This song was really the cream of the crop.

I also had a soft spot for “TRY AGAIN” and its late 90s video game realness. 

The bad - I wouldn’t say anything on the album was particularly bad as it’s a pretty well put together album. However I did play the album on shuffle a few times just to mix it up and both “BARU SEPEDA” and “CHAISE LONGUE” get a little lost. I do enjoy them both much but it’s better they’re toward the cooldown portion of the album.

The tragique - Though I absolutely love the track upon every listen (irony much?) “LUV PANDEMIC” def gets the trag crown for me. Instrumentally it’s one of the stronger tracks on the album but it’s really the vocals that can make or break a Towa Tei track no? Every one of the many vocal samples is utterly trag peaking with the eponymous “pa-pa-pa-pa-pandemiku!”

I’ll be honest that the last few Towa Tei releases didn’t quite stick out for me as much as his older stuff so the chance to review his latest in a while was a welcome pleasure. As with much of his work the album itself is greater than its parts but I guess you can’t really call him a singles artist. I will agree that his vocal guest tracks do tend to be his best but lately it had seemed he was just including artists for the sake of their name being attached and not so much that they were perfect for the track like in the past. Therefore I’m glad there are fewer vocal guest tracks on CUTE as it makes the ones that are included seem a bit more special.

As you all know, Team Tragic is an international cabal of cultural savants based in leading style and music capitals like Dallas, San Antonio, and Namerikawa. Though we stay in close contact, we don’t really get to hang out together and plan every intricacy of Team Tragic’s quest for global domination. So strange as it might sound, no, Patrick, Chrissy and I did not at any moment get together in a shady basement to shoot crack; our decision to have a month dedicated to Yasutaka Nakata’s work came organically, without drugs, in a strange moment where our collective poor taste overtook us.

Happens to the best of us.

So anyway, somehow we thought Nakata Month was a good idea, since we do all enjoy the man to varying degrees. I think the thing we can all agree on was that early capsule was utter bullshit, a sad attempt at capitalizing on the Shibuya-kei craze but with superficial production and simplistic arrangements that only made you pine for the true masters of the genre. I thank my lucky stars that even despite Team Tragic’s infinite trashiness, no one nominated that garbage.

But this is about neo-capsule, the electronic due comprised by Nakata and what’s-her-face, his trusted anonymous human vocaloid. (Even the Vocal Forge samples used throughout PLAYER have more personality.) It’s hard to give a general sense of a capsule album since they more or less lack concepts and any one song could’ve come from any album. The exception to this is the album immediately preceding WAVE RUNNER, CAPS LOCK, which to me was an ill-fated experiment in chill out ambient music featuring found sounds and even more loops than usually found on your average capsule album. It bored me half to death, so I welcome WAVE RUNNER’s return to Nakata’s dance roots.

The good – Even though what’s her face probably hates her life and I hope to god that she has some sort of creative outlet in her life where she does more than just nasally, dispassionately read whatever two lines of lyrics Nakata writes for her, she still manages to make the songs she participates in enjoyable. “Another World” is a slow burner that starts almost like a Perfume song or something, only to kick into high gear as what’s her face’s heavily processed voice sways over the beat. There’s not a lot there, and I remain unconvinced that Nakata ever really succeeds at executing his musical ideas for longer than, I don’t know, 30 seconds, but this is some feel good, hands in the air rave anthem. “Dreaming Boy” sees the vocals atop a blaring wall of 80s synthesizers before the song is kind of ruined by this annoying sequencer that takes over for most of the song. Kids these days.

“Feel Again” takes us back to the poppier days of FRUiTS CLIPPER and other “classic” capsule albums for another hands-in-the-air synth house anthem with a little bit of ever-present “whoa oh oh ohs” in the background. Bless Nakata’s heart, from being a poor man’s Yasuharu Konishi to a poorer man’s Calvin Harris/current producer du jour. But “Feel Again” is dancehall ready and single friendly, the rare capsule track you feel compelled to include in a playlist these days.

“Unrequited Love” is an updated disco/house affair, with mellow synths woven underneath a 4/4 beat. Like much of the album though, the middle sections are just like any middle section in like 99% of dance pop these days: machine gun drums, rousing synthesizers… it’s like Ibiza all day every day.

The bad – I don’t know that there’s anything egregious here or anything, but I’m not all that wild about “Dancing Planet,” which relies a little bit too much on finding annoying synthesized sounds that it sounds way longer than it’s not-even-five-minutes running time.

The tragic – The chill-out moment of the album, “Depth(vocal dub mix),” is kind of tragic, no? Like Nakata is trying to be, well, deep and brooding, but it sounds a little half baked. I still kind of like it and its place in the album. Its sparseness stands out against the rest of the tracks.

All in all, WAVE RUNNER is a decent album. Nothing really makes me want to press the “skip” button but all in all I don’t find individual songs (save a few exceptions) as distinctive as some of the tracks on WORLD OF FANTASY and STEREO WORXXX (which I will trashily admit are probably my favorite capsule albums).

Part of me loves Kyary for how she just came out of nowhere a few years ago, made an impact, and maintained her fame. On the other hand, production-wise, I feel like Nakata is exhausted, making each release sound more similar than the last.

Thankfully, part of Kyary’s package is her visual vomit, the epitome of stereotyped Japan. No one looks like her in real life, unless they’re trying to get street snapped or work at Forever 21, trust me.

The Good

To be honest, I didn’t much care for “にんじゃりばんばん” when it came out, but the track has definitely grown on me over time. Initially, the “Asian” influences threw me off, but I find them charming and something that makes this track stand out from the others. Also, the PV helps tie everything together. Ninja bears having an acid trip? Sure, why not.

“Super Scooter Happy” is an adorable capsule cover from the days when they were pretentious Shibuya-kei (in the classic sense). Interesting to have someone who is now technically Shibuya-kei cover something that is also consider so. Kyray did the cover justice, but maybe some reworking production-wise would have been nice. I feel like the cover could have been pushed more.

“インベーダーインベーダー” and “ファッションモンスター” were gu (an, at the time, upcoming fast fashion subsidy of UNIQLO) tie-ins, with heavy fashion themes. Well, more so with “ファッションモンスター” as the title implies. “インベーダーインベーダー” was basically only used to promote the 999 yen sale prices (9 being read as 『きゅうきゅうきゅう』, like the lyrics).

That being said, “インベーダーインベーダー” is one of my favorite Kyray songs ever! The lyrics are clever, music uplifting, and that horribly dated dubstep breakdown! Yes! Maybe this should go in tragic? I don’t know, but the whole thing is the “PON PON PON” this album needed.

Going a little more rock, “ファッションモンスター” was a step outside the box for Nakata. With the electronica elements still there, we’re given something fresher. I couldn’t see Perfume or any of his other pets pulling this track off quite like Kyary did.

The Bad

Annoying songs seem to be the theme lately, with “み” being the next contender. If you’re going to have a song with senseless, repetitive lyrics, make sure the production stands out. In this case, it doesn’t. Generic song, grating vocals.

I’m putting “さいごのアイスクリーム” here too because it could be so much better. The 80s influences should have been pushed forward more and less emphasis put on the silly lyrics.

For “ふりそでーしょん”, see annoying remarks above.

The Tragic

I guess “インベーダーインベーダー” somewhat falls here lyrically, but I can’t really find something that I consider tragic on this album. Actually, Kyary walks that line thin being fabulous and tragic so well, that it’s hard to judge her.

×××

なんだこれくしょん’s strengths definitely lie in its string of successful singles, but the album tracks leave a bit to be desired. I always felt that ピカピカふぁんたじん was more well-rounded, but we’ll leave that for another review.