Acidman Life Blotto Singles Collection 2004-2007 Boris Smile Electric Eel Shock/ASAKUSA JINTA Transamerica Ultra Rock/Sky ZERO Mugen Minus Shinda Hazu no Boku no Tabi BREAKfAST Classic Six Packs Sokabe Keiichi blue Pistol Valve Tsunamic Girls From Tokyo Mirror On, Then, In bloodthirsty butchers Guitarist wo Korosanaide		Kurahashi Yoeko Tadaima Released: 2005.12.16 (VICB-60010 ) Label: Babestar Reviewer: Ryosuke Okawa (2006.03.15) Tracklist 01 - 楯 (Tate) 02 - ここにいる (Koko ni Iru) 03 - 線を書く (Sen wo Kaku) 04 - シーソー (Seesaw) 05 - 卵とじ (Tamago-toji) 06 - 裏返し (Uragaeshi) 07 - シナリオ (Scenario) 08 - 石鹸ガール (Sekken Girl) 09 - 昼の月 (Hiru no Tsuki) 10 - ピエロ (Pierrot) 11 - 春の歌 (Haru no Uta) Review Kayoukyoku (classic Japanese pop) revivalism is nothing new in Japan. Even as the style became passé, replaced in the hit chart by rock, R&B, and hip-hop (or what passed for them in the Japanese mainstream), indigenous pop dies hard, fortunately. While there were certainly plenty of attempts by hipsters to capitalize on kayoukyoku's kitsch appeal in the past, the recent decade has seen more and more earnest, non-ironic interpretations. In the Japanese pop vernacular, "Showa kayou" ("Showa" referring to the period that dominated a good proportion of the 20th century when kayouyoku was at its most popular) has come to be, as a music subgenre, no less legitimate than, say, "shoegazer" or "post rock." It's hard to pinpoint where to place Kurahashi Yoeko within that context. Her music isn't as hip as Kojima Mayumi's, nor is she a faithful kayoukyoku devotee like Ohnishi Yukari or Nagisa Yoko. She is singularly unique – while some of the best contemporary Japanese retro-pop acts work so well as a fusion of kayoukyoku with other genres, such as salsa (Modern Conya), 60s psychedelia (The Syrup), 70s FM rock (Crazy Ken Band), or jazz (just about everybody else), Kurahashi utterly defies comparisons. Her singing style is best described as a freaky, operatic-jazz mutation, taking off in anarchic directions (with falsetto being an oft-used weapon) at various points throughout. An acquired taste admittedly, and one probably can't be blamed for finding it jarring. For the rest of us though, her latest album Tadaima, released at the tail end of last year, is a gem. It's also her most ambitious album to date. Gone is the cheap production that defined 2003's Modern Girl, which used drum programming instead of a real drummer, horn programming instead of horn players, and string programming instead of a string section. It was partially this low-fi quality that made that album so endearing, and it suited the unusual retro aesthetics perfectly. The production quality was upgraded somewhat with Tokyo Piano in 2004. A few of the tracks featured an actual band for a change, and the nostalgic kitsch that was so prominent previously receded to the background. Slightly disappointing for fans of Modern Girl perhaps, but one must admit that it was a fair evolution. Kurahashi takes that evolution even further with her latest offering. The point is made very clear from the opening track, "Tate," where a full string quartet provides a large dose of dramatics that end up dominating the song. A good portion of Tadaima employs real band arrangements instead of programmed replacements, with guests including members of ANATAKIKOU and Megane Wrench. The non-band tracks are recorded thus for good reason too. The overlaid vocals that decorate "Sekken Girl" are pure magic, for instance, and it's hard to imagine the song working right in any other form. Also, for all the talk about kayoukyoku that prefaced this review, its influence is actually less pronounced here. Scatting is sparser, and there is more arrangement variety. "Tamago-toji" begins with a catchy keyboard riff that gives it a poppish infectiousness that would sound woefully out of place on Modern Girl. "Koko Ni Iru" on the other hand is probably more rock than anything else, with Kurahashi's vocals almost turning into a snarl at points, while the band funks it up in accompaniment. The song also showcases her other, often undermentioned strength: she is actually a wonderfully competent keyboard player. Perhaps the strongest tracks on Tadaima are "Uragaeshi," with its vocal refrains that have an uncanny ability to get to you, and "Scenario," where the initially theatrical blend of piano and synthesizer bursts into an assault of jazz fury, Kurahashi's voice sustaining its acrobatic bob. Lyrically, many of Kurahashi's compositions border on - or dive head first into - the realm of self-deprecation. It's not just that she's self-deprecating though. She's obsessively so, to the point of being comical, all the while maintaining her deadpan composure. Case in point: "Sekken Girl." Here, she demurely expresses reluctance to confess her love because she believes that the entire planet, amazingly enough, would be better-served if she kept her feelings to herself. A bizarre sentiment to be sure, but we're dealing with a bizarre singer anyway, and there's something oddly convincing about her delivery. It's rarely fair to assign labels to someone's music, and even the most cursory listen to any of Kurahashi's song should demonstrate that if anyone eludes lazy pigeonholing, it is her. Nevertheless, the word "kayou" will probably continue to be thrown around any time her music is up for discussion. But that shouldn't be seen as a stigma. Some of the most exciting music in this country have been made by tapping into its tradition of domestic pop, and the new wave of kayou-influenced acts are so much more than simple rehashes. They've proven time and again that many possibilities inhere in this style of music, and if anything, Tadaima should only serve to reinforce that point. back to reviews
Disclaimer | Contact | Blog | RSS Feed		© 2005-2007 keikaku.net