sugar rush (Fujiya & Miyagi - Artificial Sweeteners)

*from my tumblr back in like, June or something

Fujuya & Miyagi - Artificial Sweeteners

Why you'll love it:  Stinging synths, good beats, biting lyrics.

Why you'll hate it:  Shallow, same formula as ever.

For such a simple musical outfit, Fujiya & Miyagi bear an unfortunate creative burden.  Their 2006 album, Transparent Things, couldn’t have come at a better time.  This generation was having a breakthrough in musical influence thanks to the internet.  While others were arguing over to call it “pirating” or “sharing”, kids were able to access rare and foreign trends with ease.  I think the reason why Transparent Things was such an indie hit was because this generation was really into 70’s Krautrock at the moment.

The weird part came when Fujiya & Miyagi kept doing its thing, after interest faded.  The culture looked at them and said “oh… uhm, you guys are really serious about this?  ok”.  Fujiya & Miyagi continued making krautrock records, with only light touches and motifs thrown here and there; much to the disappointment of the modern indie experimental electronic music fan.

Artificial Sweeteners is yet another defiantly simple krautrock album.  This year’s twist comes in the form of synthesizers as bitter as battery acid.  Their trademark monotone vocals, and repetitive spiteful insults strengthen the album’s remorseless robotic sound.  When the Maximum Overdrive comet comes, karaoke machines will only play this album, and display “FUCK YOU” on the LED.

Despite all the bells and whistles here, Fujiya & Miyagi is getting no more complex.  If that’s something you can look past, this is a fun album.  It’s an old fashioned Motorik dance pop recipe, but they’re still throwing in their own little spices that are worthy of praise.

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[END OF THE YEAR UPDATE] - I still enjoy this album in full every now and then.  A bit dragging towards the end, but solid throughout.  I love the colorful album cover, and the Look Around You style of the music videos.  This is on the bubble of my top ten.  Not sure if it will make the cut just yet...