Kyary Pamyu Pamyu ~ Nanda Collection

 

Sadly I am quite busy this week due to work and other miscellaneous things, and so this will not be a full reflection on this album; but merely a slight overview. 

 For those who are new to Kyary, if you have enjoyed groups like Perfume and Capsule (all produced by Nakata, that guy sure gets around) this will be a joyous occasion indeed. Her inane lyrics and ridiculous fashion sense lend to a light and cheerful mood that is powered by electronic production.

Kyary's new album "Nanda Collection" is not quite "new". Sure, it has been released fairly recently, but a majority of the tracks have been taken from her previous single; with only two new songs being put in. However, should you skip this album? If you enjoy J-Pop and Kyary, no, no you should not. It is a collection of her previous works, and includes what I would say are her best songs. This is the album to have if you do not posses any of her previous works (with exception to 'tsukematsukeru', seriously grab that one it is great).

Seiichi Yamamoto & Fushigi Robot - Mind Game OST (2004)

It wasn't too long ago I saw this movie. It was something I had kept aside for a rainy day I suppose, as I looked in my collection only to find this title that was totally obscured to me. Immediately I fell in love; it was a touching, bold, and brilliantly charming work about, in as plain of words as I can find, the experience of life. The animation was carefully experimental, shifting between normal anime styles into rotoscoping of the actors faces onto their characters faces and bright segments of action and art, the characters themselves were defined and likable in their idiosyncrasies, and, what brings us here, the music cast a brilliant mood and even within itself was quite likable. Because of this I went out searching, only to find out that, not only did I already have the soundtrack (not listened to yet), but it's likely why I found the film. And that's all because of one of the names in the title.

Co-founder and seminal member of Boredoms, Seiichi Yamamoto has left footprints of himself all around Japan's numerous music scenes, which is evident by taking a look at his dizzying discography. Even with his wide range of acts, there are several attributes that seem to follow him: lucid, surrealistic music, a significant focus on percussion, abnormal instrumentation. Seeing as that doesn't change here, any fan of the Boredoms or Rovo or Omoide Hatoba or any other Japanese band it seems my find a treat in this (I can even recall saying at one point that the music sounded very much like something Seiichi would do).

It starts with a spastic drum track brilliantly titled "Startin'" which abruptly cuts out into a charming synth piece before finally hitting the poppy, arabesque main theme. Among these is the theme... rapidly changing moods and themes. Among charming pop numbers like the title track or Atarashii Hito (not performed by Seiichi Yamamoto) are janky anti-pop pieces like No Chaser or Big Unit and ambient pieces and drum pieces and jazz pieces and even a nice sort of mash-up classical arrangement by frequent anime composer Yoko Kanno. It's a dizzy collection within itself, but carefully eclectic. There's a steady charm within it, and even without the movie there seems to be a story sliding throughout the moods.

But I definitely recommend the movie.

Try it

Buy it... please tell me if you find a place

Buy the movie

Boris - Akuma no Uta (2003)

Boris is a brutal delicacy, that rare concoction that does all things for all people. If everyone knew it and consumed it in extremis, though, it would stop being a delicacy, right? Oh well, everyone else's loss. _Akuma No Uta_ is a drop-dead masterpiece, from the punishing drone of the opener to the gong-inititiated reprise of the intro on the last song, the title track (translated as "The Evil Song.") They can do it all and just about better than all the competition:
--Sludge? I don't hear anyone who can blend a blaring punk melody with sludge in such a truly sickly-sweet manner as Boris does on their upbeat tracks;
--Drone? To say the least, but that doesn't stop them from rocking like mad when they choose to push their own boundaries.
--Psychedelic? Believe me, when you turn _Akuma No Uta_ up as loud as you need to, there are few more mind-and-body-altering experience than this one (really your body churns!!!);
--Punk? Yeah . . . we can call this band punk as fuck. To those who like their music in boxes and think that punk as fuck means the latest Exploited retread, well, Boris is too punk for you. For the rest of us, Boris may be the band who can cash in on the late, great Refused's promise of _The Shape of Punk to Come_. Like the Refused, Boris takes any style and makes it their own in their awe-inspiring music machine (minus the jazziness of the Nordic screamers, but plus the sludge, drone, psychedelia, etc. . . .). Also like the Refused, Boris are forward-looking, taking the listener on a gleeful death ride that leaves you absolutely free. It doesn't get more punk than that, kids.
When you take into account that Boris are Japanese and rock harder and better than pretty much any of us in the Anglo world, it's clear to see where our eyes should be turning to discover where the future of rock lay. I realize that I've talked them up more than I've reviewed the songs, but words can hardly describe. I'll just say that it compares 100% favorably with their newest opus _Pink_, just more succinct. Oh, did I mention they play their instruments to within an inch of their literal existences? (I don't think I've heard an amp abused as much as on _Akuma No Uta_). Wata is one wicked, original, and visceral guitarist. I could go on and on, but I'm just gonna let you buy this album; wait for it to come in the mail; put it on your stereo's highest setting (jack up the bass!!!); and feel your perception, and hence your life, change.

Try it