album of the week: 3.4

capsule

PLAYER

contemode (2010)

why you'll love it: hi-tech electro-pop. insanely catchy

why you'll hate it: terrible guest vocals, a played out genre to Western ears

I've found a big part of growing up is letting go of cool. I don't know if it's more of the accumulation of common sense, finding your own self-confidence, or just getting burnt out; but there comes a point in adulthood where you just go "fuck it" and get on with life. I kinda went about things backwards. Growing up, I HATED cool; and now music like capsule is just making me go "fuck it."

Trendiness has been part of capsule's m.o. since day one. I can usually take their fashion in stride because the music itself is hardwired to the brain electronic pleasure, as simple as it may be. 2008's MORE! MORE! MORE! was a continuation of previous shaky attempts at overseuxualized dance club pop, but the melodies were so colorful and exciting, it didn't matter how repetitive or simplistic the lyrics were, or even if one of the songs featured a dreadful rap. Total guilty pleasure album.

For PLAYER, Yasutaka Nakata has benched his partner in crime, Toshiko Koshijima, for a few of the songs, and they really suffer from it. When Toshiko's vocals are brought into the mix, her English lyrics are quite innocuous, and carry along the songs well. These guest performers on the other hand... I have no idea what two-bit club Nakata picked them out from, because they are awful... I don't know rap very well, but I know that these are piss poor rhymes, and its uncomfortable to listen to.

In PLAYER, Nakata's melodies are quite simple. I may come off as arrogant; but give me a few hours on a KORG, and I can come up with loops like this. Don't get me wrong, I'd still be really proud of them if I made them, but I don't see them as anything spectacular, like on the last few albums. The big problem is that these simple synth lines don't distract enough from the awful rapping on songs like the title track or the closer "Love or Lies".

It's funny how last year, I used Mademoiselle K to bring up a point that lyrics in a forgien language create an attractive bubble because I don't know how terrible they may be. It seems Nakata is experiencing this phenomenon here. Only he is producing the song, not listening to it. Someone please get in contact with this guy and tell him his English guest performers are a complete joke! PLAYER is otherwise another awesome guilty pleasure for me. It's music so trendy, it makes me blush a bit, but I have to give it credit. "Hello" is an absolute treat, despite its short stay; and as simple as the big electro-disco numbers like "The Music" are this time out, they still bounce around in your brain long after you've turned the album off. Not as unique as the last album, but still a fun trip.