Go!Go!7188
Antenna
BMG Japan (2009)
Why you'll love it: High energy versatile pop-punk
Why you'll hate it: not as memorable as most of their albums
Be it a minor one, the first disappointment of 2009 has arrived. The ridiculously named Go!Go!7188 is veteran pop-punk trio from Japan. With talent and creativity to boot, they've managed to constantly reshape their sound every two albums. Starting off as dirty eleki-punk, maturing into a darker tone, and recently flexing their pop muscles; it's possible that with their 7th album, Antenna, they may have finally hit a creative wall.
Whereas previous albums have had a constant musical theme, Antenna is like a piniata of experimental styles. There are tons of energy put into these new songs (the most in years), but the whole album has a directionless ADD feeling. It was at about 3/4s of the album, where a straight up metal song makes an unexpected appearance, I wondered if Go!Go! had finally jumped the shark.
The very fact that they push a seven minute song to single proves that the band isn't softening up one bit. Normally I would be thrilled to see a band be so unpredictable, but it's obvious that they perform best with structure. When I saw them live two years ago, I was floored by Yuu's guitar solos, command of voice, and the altogether tightness of the band. Without their familiar rockabilly style composition, they can't accomplish these things as well, and we're left with what sounds like a b-sides album. In fact if this was a b-sides album, or even Yuu's pet project band, チリヌルヲワカ, it would leave a better impression on me.
Antenna culminates with a sing along featuring all three members of the band contributing vocal parts. I can't help but compare this to Weezer's last album, and their similar attempt at bringing everyone to the mic. The difference is clear, Weezer has run out of talent, and no experimentation can hide it. Go!Go! still has plenty of talent (these songs are quite catchy), but they're currently having trouble focusing on somewhere they haven't yet gone. Seven albums is a lot. If they make another, hopefully they'll find what they're looking for.
Whereas previous albums have had a constant musical theme, Antenna is like a piniata of experimental styles. There are tons of energy put into these new songs (the most in years), but the whole album has a directionless ADD feeling. It was at about 3/4s of the album, where a straight up metal song makes an unexpected appearance, I wondered if Go!Go! had finally jumped the shark.
The very fact that they push a seven minute song to single proves that the band isn't softening up one bit. Normally I would be thrilled to see a band be so unpredictable, but it's obvious that they perform best with structure. When I saw them live two years ago, I was floored by Yuu's guitar solos, command of voice, and the altogether tightness of the band. Without their familiar rockabilly style composition, they can't accomplish these things as well, and we're left with what sounds like a b-sides album. In fact if this was a b-sides album, or even Yuu's pet project band, チリヌルヲワカ, it would leave a better impression on me.
Antenna culminates with a sing along featuring all three members of the band contributing vocal parts. I can't help but compare this to Weezer's last album, and their similar attempt at bringing everyone to the mic. The difference is clear, Weezer has run out of talent, and no experimentation can hide it. Go!Go! still has plenty of talent (these songs are quite catchy), but they're currently having trouble focusing on somewhere they haven't yet gone. Seven albums is a lot. If they make another, hopefully they'll find what they're looking for.
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