Album Review: Ling Tosite Sigure Just A Moment (Album of the Year 2009)

Just A Moment is the third full-length album, first on major label Sony, released by Ling Tosite Sigure. They are a band that often plays with convention (even the Romanization of their name is sometimes written as Rin Toshite Shigure,) and they push that role to new heights on Just A Moment.

All of the song writing, lyrics and production are handled by the band's front-man Toru “TK” Kitajima. The fact that they are on a major label like Sony, yet maintain their extremely independent spirit, is a testament to the powerful range of skill that the entire trio brings to the table. Indeed, it's easy to forget that this is just three people playing in an otherwise conventional guitar, bass, drums and vocals set-up.

It's that lethal and obsessive production style that sells the album. Allowed that creative freedom, every phrase seems to get a slightly different sonic treatment, with echoes extended to the breaking point, reverb and delays swirling in and out, voices booming, then reduced to radio static. Every note is injected with a massive dose of aural steroids, crushing the air with unrelenting compression and rage. Yet at the same time it's impossible to forget that this is a warm-blooded group. Their lyrics are filled with poetic passion and evocative images. Of course the signature shared male/female lead vocal style is still prominent, most notably on the album's first single “Telecastic Fake Show.” While both TK and bassist Miyoko “345” Nakamura continue to flaunt their disregard for pitch when screaming in their their incredibly high-range voices, they both dial it back much more often than on previous releases to actually sing with great skill. Both “Seacret CM” and “Moment A Rhythm” are full of soft subtlety while still being wrapped in a warm wall of noise.

True to the title, the most precious and beautiful passages often last for a single short moment before being subsumed back into the frothing waves. While all of this intricate attention to detail would seem to make Just A Moment the perfect headphone experience, it in fact works much better when propelled through the air. When allowed to fill a room at full volume, it's as if the entire place begins to whirl with energy. If ever there was a band who could project their inner turmoil into a telekinetic tsunami, it would have to be Ling Tosite Sigure. Just A Moment is an incredible album that will not allow itself to be ignored, a high–water mark for all rock records of the future.

"Telecastic Fake Show"


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