"trip away" (METAFIVE - META)

METAFIVE
META
why you'll love it: A precious work of electronic pop art
why you'll hate it: some corny lyrics and dated melodies

I'm so excited about having recently discovered this album that I just want to skip the intro and get right to the details.

METAFIVE is a Japanese retro electro-pop supergroup.  I'm not sure who founded it, but Yukihiro Takahashi (drummer of the highly influential Yellow Magic Orchestra) is the most veteran of the ensemble.  Of the modern era, Cornelius is probably the most notable name.  He made his share of fantastic and progressive music for the last 25 years.  If you had somehow found yourself reading this blog, Towa Tei may ring a bell, having released one of my favorite albums of 2015.  Rounding out the cast of familiar names is singer Leo Imai, who, like all the aforementioned, have appeared on Towa Tei albums over the past 5 years.  There are some other guys in this group, but I don't recognize them, so let's get to the music already!!

Of all the influences that go into META, Towa Tei's feels like the most pronounced.  There is plenty of fun, cheesy, 80s synthpop, sung in surprisingly well flowing English.  As with a lot of Towa Tei's work, some of it feels a bit out of touch, or delightfully out of time depending on your mood.  If anything, the rest of the contributors help reign in Tei's quirkiness, and make it feel more special here.

As expected with a supergroup, there is a lot of push-pull of tone throughout the tracklist.  The funky opener, "Don't Move", could have been the theme song to Max Headroom or a Toejam & Earl Saturday morning cartoon.  Then you have the next song, "Luv U Tokio", played straight, with a more calculated sequence of bells and whistles.  Tei's color is but a splash, mixed with Cornelius' depth and atmosphere, and some good old fashioned YMO precision.  Even a well placed YMO reference in the middle!  The music video (above) is a god damn work of art that represents everything I love about restrained, yet vibrant, electronic pop.

The rest of the album is consistently fantastic.  While it certainly helps that the vocals are above average, the mind-blowing soundscape is the heart of META.  It's busting with color, but not in a crazy unhinged drug trip kind of way.  It's like a gigantic disco-powered calculator.  For me, most of the fun is listening for who's influence is where.  "Albore"'s principal refrain is like something right out of YMO's Technodelic.  "W.G.S.F." has that kind of rich production Cornelius was known for in the 00's.

The only complaints are minor nitpicks.  "Disaster Baby" is a little too by the numbers 80's ballad for me to enjoy.  I have no idea why Towa Tei chose to remix "Radio" (a cut from his worst album, Lucky); but then again, the song is a lot better this time around.  The ballads (like "Anodyne" and "Threads") would be boring if done by anyone else, but the top shelf production makes them soar.

I have no idea if this is a one-off or the beginning of something.  I want to treasure these dozen songs like a rare, once in a lifetime comet.  Although, they have the outfits already made...  it would be a shame to hang em up so soon.