Time again for a new single from Buck-Tick and of course that means a new video featuring the guys in the band looking all dark and gothy and smokin' hot!
Both the steadily rockin' song and the video stick pretty close to the usual BT themes which mainly concern being all dark and gothy and smokin' hot (see above) and having all kinds of dark and gothy and smokin' hot sex. ("Kuchizuke" means "kiss," after all.) But at least the video offers the viewer something to look at aside from hot dudes being hot. But I gotta admit, Atsushi is really laying it on thick in this one, so I doubt anyone will really be all that into the interesting loops and layers going on. Sorry, video editor and special effects team, but ZOMG Atsushi is holding an apple!
I really love the updated version of "Dress" that Abingdon Boys School released a while back. Sure, the original Buck-Tick song is great, but it's a bit on the soft side and, let's face it, it's starting to show its age. Of course BT's Atsushi Sakurai is a more, let's just say "interesting" singer, but the rockin' ABS version really takes the song to a new, much more epic level.
Imagine my happiness to learn that Sakurai had done the song live during a recent ABS live gig and that it was going to be released on DVD!
It didn't take long for the video to surface. Here it is in all its boy-on-boy action. Enjoy it while you can! I know my inner fan-girl certainly did...
Well, it certainly has been a long time since we last saw Videos of the Weeks here on the A-Z. Sorry about that. I think things will finally be ramping up, at least for the next few months. Life on the outside is getting back to normal, so let's take a look at what's been going on!
Miki Furukawa - "Saihate"
This is a new single from Miki Furukawa, fromerly of Supercar. I almost always like her poppy electro songs more than some of her more indie rock stuff, and I like this one. Both the video and the song are just a little on the bland side, but they both pretty and fun, so what's the harm? Still makes me wish Supercar were still together...
More after the jump!
Buck-Tick - "Beauty"
Much like I like Miki's electro tracks more, I like it most when Buck-Tick are doing something loud and energetic. This newest single from the band is super poppy and doesn't have much of the darkness I like in some of the other songs, but again, this gets the job done just fine.
Molice - "Pale Wind"
This is an easy-going, nostalgic sounding song from Molice's new album Catalystrock. It's a bit of a departure from their usually more high-energy stuff, but it's still super catchy. I will admit that I like the treatment of the "regular" video far more than that of the more watercolor/cell-shaded look, but to each their own!
The Brixton Academy - "See You In A Dream"
I'll be talking much more about these guys soon, but I just couldn't resist sharing this video now. Their debut album Vivid is already at the top of my "Best Japanese Albums of 2010" list. This is easily my favorite song on the album, and the video is a great compliment to it. It's very DIY, but proof that you don't need a lot of fancy tricks if you've got a simple idea.
Lookbook - "Over and Over"
This week's non-Japanese pick comes of a Minnesota bands called Lookbook. A friend of mind had a part in making it, and the song is great too!
This it for this week. Let's all hope for repeat performance next week.!
Going to kick off a new feature today, the rather self-explanatory "Videos of the Week."
Every week, I'll round up a few of the videos that have caught my eye. They'll be a mix of new and old and not always Japanese, though you can rest assured that most of them will be about Japanese music.
Without further ado, here's the first one:
Mouse on the Keys "Saigo no Bansan"
This is the first I've heard of these guys, and it totally blew me away. The song is cool, but this video really takes it to a whole new level. I absolutely love its dark, gritty Noir feel. Perfect.
Hit the jump for more!
Polysics "Young Oh! Oh!
New single from Polysics. Absolutely crazy, as usual. Seriously, just try and follow the logic of this one. You can't! There isn't any!
I don't remember now where I got the link to this, probably someone on Twitter. New music from Hiroshi Sakaue, a singing grandpa, slathered with Auto Tune. Weird.
History of Buck-Tick
A 10 part history of the very early Buck-Tick days, all in English! A must watch for any BT fan, to be sure.
Susumu Hirasawa "Solar Ray 2" Live
A mesmerizing live solar-powered performance from electro genius Susumu Hirasawa. I could listen to the into forever.
9mm Parabellum Bullet "Punishment" and "Discommunication" Live
It's pretty tough to sum up a band that's been around for twenty five years and who has evolved as much as Buck-Tick, not to mention the huge influence they've had on the music world both in Japan and in the West. They were a big part of the early vis-kei movement in Japan, and they also managed to work closely with and influence many musicians overseas.
While the band has jumped genres over the years, at the same time Buck-Tick has retained their own signature sound. They've never been afraid to use electronic textures and special effects in their music, which is something else that has traveled with them to various degrees through the years. In the early days they were more of a pop/punk/glam band, with just as much of a focus on their outrageous visual style as on their music. They slowly became darker and more noisy until they eventually moved to almost entirely electronic and industrial sounds. After that they became even more grand and gothic before seeming to reach a sort of elaborate-production saturation point. Most recently they have dropped almost all of the fancy pretense in favor of much more direct and raw rock and roll. If their own personal lives are mirrored in their music, then things must be going very well in the world of Buck-Tick these days.
Even during all of these changes the band has never been afraid to experiment with their sound. Their songs are almost always rooted in a kind of dangerously playful, swaggering rock. With the exception of their most industrial work, they have always been a rock band first. It's this solid rock foundation (and their label's willingness) that allows them to wander off in whatever direction they choose. This doesn't always work out, but it does let them peruse their own interest, a genuine, honest quality which is something not lost on the fans. It doesn't hurt that the band members play up their looks for all they're worth, though again in a more subtle, understated way these past few years.
It would be folly to try and predict where Buck-Tick is going to go from here. They've already done much more than many other bands, and had a freedom to pursue their own ideas from the very beginning. While they obviously have strong overseas influences, they also seem content to stick to Japan for their main audience. A band so content with who they are (their lineup has never changed)and where they are, both literally and figuratively, is a rare thing indeed. Whatever happens next, it's sure to be interesting, as always.
Albums: Hurry Up Mode - 1987 Sexualxxxxx! - 1987 Seventh Heaven - 1988 Taboo - 1989 Aku no Hana - 1990 Kurutta Taiyou - 1991 Koroshi no Shirabe This Is NOT Greatest Hits - 1992 Darker Than Darkness -style93- - 1993 Six/Nine - 1995 Cosmos - 1996 Sexy Stream Liner - 1997 Kyokutou I Love You - 2000 One Life, One Death - 2000 Mona Lisa Overdrive - 2003 13kai wa Gekkou - 2005 Tenshi no Revolver - 2007 Memento Mori - 2009
2007 was a great year for Japanese rock. While the pre-fab pop/idol scene is still what Japan is best known for, it's starting to show some cracks around the edges. Many bands are pushing strong playing and even stronger songwriting to the forefront instead of relying on the shallow gimmicks of massive industry backing. What might once have been a talented band lost to obscurity is now a group that has just as much of a chance at fame as any rising starlet. Obviously, many of us would like to think that this is mostly due to the now mainstream use of the internet as the main portal of information gathering. We no longer have to rely on the magazine and television monopolies to tell us what to listen to. It also helps that more and more Japanese bands are making the trip overseas and preforming live to larger and larger audiences outside of the anime convention circuit. We can now follow our own paths wherever they may lead. (Hint hint - this is exactly the mission of this site!)
That said, here are a few recommend paths to follow for music lovers of all stripes. There's no way to list all of the great albums that were released in 2007, but I nevertheless hope to cover a lot of ground, as usual, from metal to pop to electro to indie rock. I'll start things off with 15 of my personal favorites from 2007, followed by 35 quick picks.
Termination easily gets my vote for most intense rock album of the year. It's hard to believe that 9mm Parabellum Bullet could top any of their previous fury, but indeed they do. That could be due in part to the high amount of recycled older material, but it's made even more frantic on the new recordings. Termination is a wall of sound from begining to end, with a very high "twists-and-turns" ratio in every song. Not for the feint of heart, yet somehow extremely catchy along the way. "Punishment," the aptly named final track, puts epic metal guitar gods Dragonforce to shame.
It was a long and lonely wait for the very first album from Abingdon Boys School. We were teased with a couple years worth of singles until they finally releases their self-titled album in 2007. While it only contained about 50% new material, it was still a much welcomed album. Full of Toshiyuki Nishi's relentlessly thick and compressed production, the album is a solid wall of guitars, synths and Takanori Nishikawa's vocal prowess. While it's obviously a pop album, ABS manages to bring a lot of raw power via the intricate guitar riffs and hulking drums. It's pop rock full of metal tricks and synthetic grandeur.
Much like 9mm Parabellum Bullet, Asparagus plays a very intense brand of spiky indie-rock, stripped down and raw. They aren't afraid to leave all the nerve endings exposed on Mont Blanc, which is full of very quick, tight guitars and drums all supporting the melodic structures.
Struggle In A Whirl, the debut album from The Brown, is a feast of progressively minded indie rock, swinging from complex guitar workouts to mellow passages that shine a light on Ai's crooning vocal style. Every song is packed with small details that require several listens to fully comprehend. I hate to keep invoking the name of 9mm Parabellum Bullet (band of the year maybe?), but Struggle In A Whirl certainly sounds more than a little like Evanescence run through a Termination machine.
Buck-Tick never fail to surprise with every new album they release, and they did it once again with Tenshi No Revolver. While the previous album was an ichor slathered, dark and glammy affair, Tenshi No Revolver is a much brighter, yet no less menacing album. While the songs seem more upbeat and happy at first blush, further inspection exposes the same dark undertones. The sound is stripped down and focuses on a simpler raw sound, which highlights the, as always, subtle, brilliant songwriting. Much like The Cure could fake happy now and then, Buck-Tick will put the smiles back on the face of goth via Tenshi No Revolver.
Budo Grape continued their new-wave synth rock stylings on Otonatachi x Kodomotachi, an album full of very cute and fun electro-rock songs ala The Plastics and The Sugarcubes. The tag-team male/female vocals add to the playful, totally unpretentious songs. While overall the production on Otonatachi x Kodomotachi is very dry and to the point (much like early Devo recordings), their willingness to dip into a wide range of electronic textures keeps the simple songs interesting from beginning to end.
Coaltar of the Deepers has made a career out of being extremely tough to categorize. Every album is an exercise in genre bending, and that is expressed most perfectly on Yukari Telepath. While the band started out as a softer, shoe-gaze type band, they've always adopted much heaver element in their music. With Yukari Telepath, they blend dreamy sounds-capes with very loud and very thick metal passages and grunting vocals. That can then break into an uplifting bit full of synths and the usual dreamy style. At other times they stick to straight-up groovy rock, or totally spaced out excursions. Yet they make it all work perfectly and cohesively. I'd even dare to say that Yukari Telepath is the best album of 2007, blending not only disparate styles, but synthetic and acoustic elements in equal measure. And I mean best album. It's something that must be listened to as a whole, and that is something that is becoming increasingly rare these days.
GO!GO!7188's 569 is a much welcome return to superb songwriting for the band. Their surf-rock meets epic-female-vocal style is never more solid than on this album. The opening tracks are easily their best material ever, with extremely catchy songs wrapped in deceptively complex structures. While the middle of the album contains all the more experimental and quiet stuff, the party picks up again toward the end. As with many of the previously mentioned albums, 569 focus only on the band's solid playing, highlighting the trio's prowess behind their instruments, as well as the very upbeat and fun songs.
Maximum the Hormone - Buiikikaesu
On Buiikikaesu, Maximum the Hormone seems to do the impossible, making nu-metal interesting and fun. While it contains all of the signature chugging riffs and guttural screaming, it also adds a huge dose of catchy melody and straight up pop-rock. In fact just about every song seems to jump through several genres, from mook-rock to ska to dancable pop and hip-hop, all with a fun punk-rock irreverence, and the occasional super cute female vocal. With Buiikikaesu, Maximum the Hormone proves that nu-metal isn't all angst and emo, but also a good time.
Bambi's Dilemma is the perfect mix of seemingly random noise guitar with easily digestible punk songs. While calling Melt Banana "abrasive" might be the understatement of the year, they manage to keep their spikey outer shell razor sharp while at the same time writing nothing but pure pop songs on Bambi's Dilemma. It's just pop at a million miles an hour, played through a blender on the verge of a meltdown. While their blistering punk presentation won't be winning over the faint of heart, the pure pop of Bambi's Dilemma just might.
Don't let the sailor-suited school girl who fronts this band fool you. Or better yet, let her fool you into thinking you'll be getting a typical cute pop-rock the image might otherwise represent. After all, Midori is a band full of pop and cute and rainbows, it's just that it's all fractured from too much love and overuse. Both of Midori's 2007 releases are chock full of playful pianos, drums and bass, playfully played by a trio of angry children throwing a fit over a favorite toy. It seems impossible that singer Mariko Goto could contain so much rage and fury one second, then drop down to a cute and alluring tone, drawing you in for another vocal attack. If these guys don't burn out soon, they just might take over the world.
Speaking of taking over the world, 2007 was an extremely important year for Japan's preeminent new-wave band Polysics. Not only was it their 10th anniversary, but they embarked on the very first MySpace Music Tour in America, which exposed them to hundreds of thousands of new fans. While many of those new fans might have thought that Polysics or Die: Vista, a compilation released on MySpace Records, was their big 2007 album, it was actually the all new Karate House which was the year's centerpiece. Containing a large number of hit singles like "Electric Surfin' Go Go" and "You You You," it also showed off the band's continuing evolution. While they still retain their early noise-rock mentality, it continues to be tempered by their desire to hone their sounds into pure electro-rock bliss. Karate House is just one more step on their way to world-wide fame.
If Puffy's previous and more recent releases pushed them too far into pandering-to-America territory, then it was this year's Honeycreeper that brought them back home. The songs on Honeycreeper hearken back to their early days, with more of a focus on the fuzzy, hazy feel-good retro-rock sound in lieu of their previous pop-rock aping of Avril Lavigne. The songwriting is some of the best you'll hear on a rock album in any country, with ample twin vocal harmonies and the simple yet somehow nostalgic sounding melodies. Honeycreeper is just a simply beautiful, middle of the road, totally unpretentious rock album, something only Puffy can do with such quiet perfection.
If it's eclectic arrangements you're looking for, then Shugo Tokumaru's Exit is the perfect album for you. The songs roll out like clockwork toys, all made in a place not quite based in any reality we know, yet all strangely familiar. It helps that all of the tunes on Exit are front and center, somehow managing to not get lost in the vast sea of unique sounds. While the vocal treatments might remind you of The Beach Boys' dreamy, layered style, it's Tokumaru's totally fresh presentation that will keep you feeling just off-kilter enough to keep the bemused smile on your face from beginning to end.
While, for some totally unfathomable reason, it doesn't contain the incredibly epic first single "The Revenant Choir," Versailles' first album Lyrical Sympathy is a limitless font of epic metal greatness. Its soaring majesty is rivaled only by the band's own outrageously over the top visual style, which is taken straight out Anne Rice's most fevered dreams. Their frilly and darkly colorful look is a prefect visual analog for their music, which is equally dark and brooding, yet full of blistering metal guitar riffs, seemingly unending solos and labyrinthine structures. I still don't know how they manage to pull off all of those complicated phrases while wearing a hundred pounds of lace and flowing dresses, but the blinding greatness of their music is enough to dampen any doubts. If Lestat were alive today, this would be his band.
Some Other Notable Releases:
Art-School - Hidari Kiki no KIKI: An excellent little EP.
Ayumi Hamasaki - GUILTY: Yeah, that's right. Even the biggest pop-idols in Japan can release an interesting album once in a while.
B'z - Action: You can't ignore the biggest selling band in the history of Japan.
Base Ball Bear - 17sia: More pop/post-punk/dream rock from BBB.
Bremen - Precious Story: "Just another blissful electro album" is always welcome.
Bump of Chicken - Orbital Period: Simple soft rock is simply perfect.
CapsuleFlash Back: More of the same is just fine when it's the same top-notch electro-dance from Nakata Yasutaka.
Chatmonchy- Seimeiryoku: Fresh-faced-and-smiling rough-edged pop-rock from the all-girl trio.
Coltemonikha - Coltemonikha2: Speaking of Nakata Yasutaka, if his Capsule stuff is too hard and sharp for you, try this softer side.
Electric Eel Shock - Transworld Ultra Rock: More balls-out stoner-rock mayhem from EES.
Fullarmor - Zion: An excellent little guitar-driven instrumental album full of intense songs that seem to come straight out of your favorite retro video game soundtrack.
Galneryus- One For All, All For One: If you were scared off by Versailles' frilly pink dresses, then maybe Galneryus' less visual epic metal is more for you.
Going Under Ground - Oyasumi Monster: If it's fun soft-rock you're after, then this is the album for you.
Hawaiian6 - Rings: More intense, melodic power-punk from Hawaiian6.
Ken Yokoyama - Third Time's A Charm: More intense, melodic power-punk from Ken Yokoyama.
L'Arc-en-Ciel - Kiss: L'Arc continues their mix of lushly produced, dark and elegant rock.
The Local Art - KiZUNA: A great, solid power rock album. What else do you need?
Mars Eurythmics - Range Over Hill and Dale: A great, upbeat, solid indie-rock album. What else do you need?
Meg- Beam: Speaking of Nakata Yasutaka, if his Coltemonikha stuff isn't fun enough for you, try his more mature production on Meg's new album.
Mix Market - Shiawase no Elephant: Another fun and bubbly indie rock album from Mix Market.
Mosaic.wav - Future-Fiction:AKIBA-POP!!: Suffering from low blood-sugar? Inject this super-sweet anime inspired collection of crazy synth-pop twice daily.
Motocompo- Chiptop Lips: Their most mature album so far, it contains some of the most blissful synth-pop you'll hear.
NoodlesMetropolis: More drowsy, fuzzed out rock from this all-girl rock group.
Onmyo-za- Maou Taiten: Once again Onmyo-za bring new life to classic metal and traditional Japanese style.
Otsuka Ai - Love Piece: Yet another spot-on collection of retro-pop rock, tearful ballads and plain crazy fun from the most cutest idol ever.
The Pillows - Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!: It should go without saying by now, but when The Pillows release an album, you buy it.
Roach- Mind of the Sun: Nu-Metal with a very original, high-pitched traditional Japanese vocal style. Well, at least when he's not screaming.
RYUKYUDISKO - INSULARHYTHM A straight-up techno/dance album full of happy melodies and interesting collaborations.
School Food Punishment - Air Feel, Color Swim and School Food is Food Food: Two albums full of mature female vocals, pianos and soft, spacey rock.
Straightener- Immortal: A great little EP of brash indie-rock.
Tokyo Jihen - Variety: More swank, high-society rock. I suggest a white wine.
Tomoyasu Hotei - Ambivalent: Guitar-fueled blues-rock? Here it is!
UVERworld - Bugright: If Base Ball Bear's 17sai didn't have enough down-tempo rap for your liking, then UVERworld would like to talk with you.
Vidoll - Bastard: A step above your average vis-kei album, Bastard swings from screamy metal to soft, dance-able ballads and back.
That's it for this year. Hopefully that will give you enough to wade through until the next wave of albums begins to appear. With all of the amazing music released this year, next year looks to be very interesting indeed!
(Also, please feel free to add your own "Best Of" list in the comments!)
Twenty years is a long time on an everyday human scale, but it's a lifetime, if not several lifetimes, in the world of music. One hit wonders come and go every year, with only a few bands managing to maintain any level of fame for more than a couple years at a stretch. There's also the question of the flat out attractiveness of the band's members after years of abusing themselves on the road. Time does not favor rock and roll.
It's amazing, then, that any band can achieve the unrelenting popularity of Japan's Buck-Tick. Not only are they often credited for starting the goth or vis-kei movement in Japan, but their legions of fans have followed them through all of the subsequent shifts in style, from glam to industrial to goth.
Their fifteenth studio album Tenshi no Revolver is yet another shift in style for the aging band. Where the previous album 13kai wa Gekkou was possibly their darkest to-date, Revolver is a bright, shiny, dare I say upbeat affair. It's a little unnerving.
Expectation is always a fool's game. For the rabid fan, a long wait and heightened expectation will almost always result in a let down. The band can never fulfill the dreams of every fan boy and girl, nor should they. Nevertheless it's still a shock when a band does a 180.
Tenshi no Revolver is that 180.
"Mr Darkness and Mrs. Moonlight" starts off the album with the expected dry and dark intro, but it quickly raises its hands to the heavens with a chorus that breaks into an jaunty jog halfway though. "Rendezvous," "Montage" and "Lily" take the ball and run with it, keeping the tempo loose and the spirits soaring. They all have a rock and roll swagger I can only equate with the likes of the Rolling Stones or early new wave rockers like Adam Ant. Beach parties and feathery pillow fights all around.
One thing that makes all of these tracks, and in fact the entire album, stand out, is that the arrangements are all totally stripped down to the basics. There are very few fancy studio effects or synthetic backing tracks which were a staple of just about every other album previous. The songs are all bright and dry, which only adds to the overall "nice" feeling. There are no dark corners, no echoing hallways and no bats in the belfry. Just a few dudes playing music in a posh studio.
The good times continue on through "La Vie En Rose" and "Cream Soda" until "Rain" hits. At first it seems like a return to the good old dour Buck-Tick, but then it turns into a ballad more suited to a 90's hair band like Poison or Warrant. It's horrifying, but in all the wrong ways.
They don't waste any time in getting back to the jaunty rock style, hitting up a host of instantly forgettable songs. It isn't until the second to last track, the truly strange (for them) "Alice in Wonder Underground" that anything resembling a hook can be heard. Again, this is a very happy, upbeat rock song, full of puppy dogs and lollipops and totally not goth, even in an ironic The Cure "Friday I'm In Love" sort of way. It is very catchy though, but marred by a very sour resolution to the chorus, at least in my opinion.
The final title track is the first to showcase the kind of strange experimentation that we've come to expect from Buck-Tick. It's another rocker, but it's full of strange wailing voices and effects and, for the first time, something resembling balls. Singer Atsushi pushes his voice into juicy, jagged territory while Toll bashes through the chugging guitars. In the past this song would have featured huge industrial drums and snarling synth bass lines, but here it's just another rock song.
That's the basic tone of Revolver. It's just your basic rock album. It has its high points, but if you were harboring any expectation for more of the overwhelming gothic darkness and smoke of previous albums, they will be quickly dashed on the rocks outside the castle as Buck-Tick merrily skips off to play in the meadows.
J-Pop and J-Rock are only the beginning. The modern Japanese music scene is just as vibrant and varied as any other music scene in the world. I'm Zac Bentz, writer, musician, designer and all around Japanese music fanatic. Here I hope to share with you a comprehensive (!!) list of Japanese artists and bands (with a strong focus on underground and indie acts) that you may or may not have heard of, in the hopes of expanding our mutual awareness of Japanese music.
I don't mean to suggest that everything I listen to is great. Quite the contrary, I hope that you will take the time to recommend your own favorite artists in the comments so that we can all learn a bit more about the huge range of Japanese music that's out there.
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