album of the week: 6.4

Anamanaguchi
Endless Fantasy
(2013)

why you'll love it:  retro NES rave party
why you'll hate it: Too long, too much modern pop, not enough rock

At a quick glance, Anamanaguchi is the kind of band somebody would expect me to love.  Fast, glitchy music that sounds like video games.  DONE!  Not really.  Get to know me a little better, and you'll see I'm pretty turned off by hobbies and interests being used to shape a personality.  Anamanaguchi is best known for their contribution to the Scott Pilgrim multimedia experience.  Lesser known for contributing to the most popular Bit.Trip video game, Runner.  Throw in a couple PAX appearances, and you've got a fan base packed to the gills with insufferable affectations, all competing against each other to be the same person.

This is actually why it's a surprise that I kind of dig this band; or at least their 2008 EP, Dawn Metropolis.  Now, Dawn Met has two really good things going for it.  

1- an infusion of live guitars and drums, and a band focused song structure:  A lot of chiptune acts tend to rely on nothing more than "hey, remember NES games?".  The songs on Dawn Met stayed relatively focused and tight, like a real live rock band.

2- Less than 30 minutes total:  There is only so much of this kind of sound you can take.  Dawn Met dips out before you begin to tire of it.

Guess what Endless Fantasy lacks?

Good on Anamanaguchi for trying something new, but insultingly bad club music is not a direction I would have asked for.  "Prom Night" is everything I don't want in a pop song.  The contradiction of enjoying that song, and using this band to wave your "oh so unique" geek outcast banner is enough to make my head explode.

There are a few good tracks on this album, like "Echobo". "SPF 420" and "Pastel Flags", but they get buried in this massive 20+ song double LP of hardly anything but the same kind of song!  So much repetition is what led me to a one minute jazzy interlude "Total Tea Time" being my favorite track on here, because of how much it stands out.

By the way, I'm aware of the irony of decrying an album titled Endless Fantasy for being too long.  So don't bother pointing that out.

"oh hey, I was at that show!" [Man or Astro-Man? edition]

More pictures:  http://imgur.com/a/m3NSi#0

album of the week: 6.3

Vampire Weekend
Modern Vampires of The City
(2013)

why you'll love it:  a unique sound, catchy as hell, lots of neat touches
why you'll hate it:  not that many standout tracks, can get too weird or boring in second half

The Vampire Weekend I talk about in this review probably isn't the one you hear on the radio.  It's probably also not the band they themselves want to be.  Subjectivism is one of the wonders of music, isn't it?  Coming from an upbringing of punk rock, and at the same time hating the actual scene, leads to things like enjoying Vampire Weekend.  Their wealthy prissiness style is just vague enough to be taken as frivolous or ironic, and catchy enough to never feel pretentious.  They're a perfect palette cleanser for when I get sick of genre discussion or general rebellious hypocrisy.

Vampire Weekend's self titled debut had just enough of that style to make me run with it and act like they're the new Pizzicato Five.  The 2010 follow up, Contra, sounded more like the "Maui beach house" record, with a lot more pop and reggae.  Modern Vampires of The City returns to the Hamptons, and sounds more like Vampire Weekend than I ever pretended Vampire Weekend sounded like.  This album is much more restrained, not so concerned with hits.  Only "Diane Young" speeds up the pace.  It's an obvious single, but does a lot with voice modulation and break-beat; so it doesn't come off as nauseatingly radio friendly as "Holiday"

While the sound may be more gala ball than ever, that doesn't mean they don't experiment.  The second half of the album has a few strange decisions.  There are high pitched yelps of "Ya-Hey" and … what sounds like a vuvuzela run through a crunchy synth mod in "Worship You".  Weird decisions like these won't win over casual fans; but my twisted mind that pretends this band is like some evolved form of Shibuya-kei absolutely loves it.

I gotta say I also enjoy all the subtle references to old testament scripture throughout the album.  It doesn't seem to be making any kind of deep criticism or message; but i really love it when an album has a theme to it, even if there is no point to it.

You have to be in the right mindset for it, but I really do feel this is their strongest album yet.  

album of the week: 6.2

チリヌルヲワカ
Analog
(2013)

why you'll love it:  Strong vocals, fun riffs, lots of range for a basic rock band
why you'll hate it:  Not a lot done to create a standout sound.

Of all the random stuff from Japan I review here, only one has ever been my album of the year.  That was GO!GO!7188's 2010 swan song, Go!!GO!GO!Go!!.  In the wake of their departure, Yumi Nakashima (guitar) has kicked her side project band into full gear.

As happy I am to hear Yuu's powerful voice sour over guitar rock some more, チリヌルヲワカ has much less character than the surf-punk inspired GO!GO!.  The band's sound stays in a nebulous place, never truly planting a firm step into surf, punk, or garage rock.  If anything, what shapes the band's personality is a traditional Japanese influence in a few of their riffs, and general aesthetic.  Even that aspect isn't leaned into heavily enough to solely define them.

Lack of a truly unique approach is the one thing really holding this band back.  As with their other releases, most of the songs on this EP rock.  Speedy riff driven songs, like the first two tracks are exciting and fun.  Yuu has the kind of range in her voice to bring sincerity and legitimacy to a melody, and switch right along with the beat into a bubbly bouncy chorus.  She does her best to carry the 2 or 3 ballad style tracks on here as well, but these songs tend to struggle the most without the kind of swing and swagger her cohorts in GO!GO! had.

チリヌルヲワカ seems like it's here to stay, and I'm ok with that.  I just wish they did more to justify my reputation driven praise. 

album of the week: 6.1

Streetlight Manifesto
The Hands That Thieve
(2013)

why you'll love it:  music so powerful you'll become a one man army
why you'll hate it:  bad pacing, still has the ska-punk stigma

The story of Streetlight Manifesto needs to be written about in great detail years from now.  It's the ultimate example of how cruel and stubborn a record label can be.  I'd love to recall the whole tumultuous affair, dating all the way back to the mid-90s, but that would take ages.  All you need to know now is that Streetlight's back and forth with their record label (who has gone as far as canceling full albums, and removing their own content from the internet in efforts to NOT promote this band), is seemingly over with the release of The Hands That Thieve.  It really happened.  I'm listening to this album right now as I type this.

I could just write about the endlessly fascinating tales of horror Streetlight Manifesto has had with their label, but maybe I should drop that entirely and actually tough upon the music.  Streetlight is big band folk-rock outfit from New Jersey, grandfathered by Tomas Kalonky.  He had a taste of success in his formative years, writing a ska-punk album called Keasbey Nights, in a time where ska-punk was a big huuuuuge deal in New Jersey.  He abandoned ship suddenly and unexpectedly, to get a real world education, but returned to music about 5 years later.  From the ashes of Keasbey Nights came Streetlight Manifesto.

Kalnoky has always had a unique songwriting style.  A very sharp and speedy delivery.  Noir-esque lyrics seemingly about crime and poverty, but really about philosophy, religion, death, and so on.  The core foundation of Streetlight Manifesto's sound are a lot of horns and gang vocals; but tons of world music influences are what sets them apart. Whatever shame triggers that are going off in your brian due to the word "ska", subdue them right now.  You're denying yourself the joy of an incredibly talented, eclectic, and inspirational band.

The Hands That Thieve is just as an impressive and powerful piece of work as the band's previous two albums.  I'm a little exhausted by the pacing (probably one too many ballads in the second half), but the big "bring the house down" numbers are still giving me goosebumps with each listen.  "The Three of Us" is possibly the most thunderous song they've ever made; in both the multiple climaxes in the music, and fascinating metaphors and powerful statements in the lyrics.  "Oh Me, Oh My" continues to prove that Kalnoky writes the best songs about life and death.  

Every Streetlight album takes forever to happen, and thus never lives up to the hype.  It's only after repeated listens over a long time you realize how well crafted and thoughtful each of them are.  This album already has its hooks in me much more than Somewhere in The Between (2007), so I'm looking forward to further unraveling it with repeated listens.

I suppose this was more of a review of Streetlight Manifesto than the actual album.  Honestly, check any of their albums out.  They're probably one of the most under-appreciated bands in the world.