Mass of the Fermenting Dregs S/T 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		Yukihiro Takahashi Blue Moon Blue Released: 2006.03.15 (TOCT-25939) Label: Toshiba-EMI Reviewer: Patrick South (2006.10.03) Tracklist 01 - Something New 02 - Blue Moon Blue 03 - A Star is Born 04 - In Cold Queue 05 - Lay My Love 06 - I Like the Wright Brothers, But No Airplanes 07 - Still Walking to the Beat 08 - Exit to Reality 09 - Slow Turning in My Heart 10 - Where Are You Heaving To? 11 - In This Life 12 - Eternally Review In the early ‘80s, Yellow Magic Orchestra were synth-pop pioneers. Informing their robotic, Kraftwerkian template with a Japanese sensibility, drummer Yukihiro Takahashi's Enka-style vocals, the latest in synthesizer technology, and, well, emotion, YMO put Japan on the map of pop music innovators. They weren't an empty, foreign fad. No, this trio could write tunes—six albums worth. Then, at the height of their creativity, they had to go and ruin a good thing and disband. Twenty years on, they're all grown up. Whereas synth virtuoso Ryuichi Sakamoto and bass maestro Haruomi Hosono made the smooth transition into silver-hairdom by adventuring into the uncharted lands of exotica, classical, bossa, and jazz, Yukihiro Takahashi has kept his music fresh and moustache kempt simply by honing his pop craft. Indeed, he is most at home in his smithy, hammering out album after album of accessible electro-pop tunes, brining forth new sonic emphases with each release to keep with shifting musical trends. And a master songsmith he is: see YMO's Naughty Boys and his solo album What, Me Worry? for a few slices of synth-pop perfection. But those are past glories of a curiously fertile era in art-rock. It's 2006, and we must ask ourselves: does Blue Moon Blue, Takahashi's first proper solo album in seven years, have a place in the current musical landscape? I'm happy to report that, not only does his craft's luster shine ever so bright, but the ‘00s see him in sharper form than he was throughout the whole of the ‘90s. The magic is back, and I'm going to chalk it up to his re-embracement of electronic music: his recent electro-folk project Sketch Show, a collaboration with old pal Hosono, modernized and breathed new life into Takahashi's productions. But whereas Sketch Show steeped their subtle pop hooks in an alien stew of glitches, scratches, and organic found-sound, Blue Moon Blue varnishes its songs with a pristine, sprightly sheen. Here, it's all about melody, all about crafting the perfect pop song. And, with opener and first single "Something New," the album offers just that. Glockenspial, flugelhorn sections, and clicky percussion give a triumphant, toy-ish charm to a track running on flamenco-style guitar and synthesizers. Track two, "Blue Moon Blue," is officially the album's first spine-tingler. This time melodica, trombone, and Hosono-san himself on bass are the magic ingredients. From then on, nary a clunker is to be found. The only real misstep is "Still Walking to the Beat," an ode to his 1984 techno-pop anthem "Walking to the Beat." Not only are its perplexedly acid-jazz leanings unwelcome on an album of such pristine pop, but it meanders monotonously to the five-minute mark. "In This Life" is the other questionable inclusion simply because it already appeared on his 1994 album Mr. YT. The reworkings are so slight that it feels almost criminal. These are minor blemishes on an album overflowing with love for melody. "Where Are You Heading To?" not only boldly challenges conservative grammar conventions by ending with a preposition, but it serves up a tune so simultaneously heart wrenching and beautiful that even the lead synthesizer doesn't quite know how to best emit sound. It sounds less like a synth as it does a strangulated moan. If the synth were an animal, it would be a mother bear both mourning the loss of her newborn baby and celebrating its twin's survival—and syncing up that moan so harmoniously with the accompanying melodica, acoustic guitar, and church bell. Another standout track is "Lay My Love," a cover song from Brian Eno and John Cale's 1990 collaboration album, Wrong Way Up. Traditionally I cry cop-out when I hear a cover, but I embrace with open ears this particular tribute to Eno/Cale and staccato art-rock simply because it's so suited to Takahashi's sound. Takahashi's friends pick out a euphonium and dusty electric guitar from his sundry palette of instruments, creating a faithful but very YT version of the song. And I even prefer Takahashi's vocals. What separates this album from the rest of his catalogue is its intimacy. Rather than sing his multi-syllabic Enka croon atop loud, epic synth washes, here Takahashi only needs a six-inch voice to be heard over the quiet and careful arrangements. The production is more modern, more European, and more hip than the at-times-MOR arrangements of his ‘90s albums. Enlisting the help of German sound artists Albrecht Kunze and Ekkehard Ehlers, as well as Marc Bianchi of Her Space Holiday, Takahashi has also adopted elements of laptop pop. But what sets it apart from that tired genre is its heavy use of acoustic instruments, and its humanity. There's nothing cold, throwback, or Kraftwerkian about it: think a gentler, less experimental, more seasoned Cornelius—who himself released a cover of the Takahashi-penned "Cue" just last week. With a new studio album, fresh remasters of his best ‘80s albums, the release of golden-era concert DVDs, and, yes it's true, a forthcoming reunion album from his ‘70s baby, Sadistic Mika Band, 2006 is the Year of Yukihiro Takahashi. It's a celebration, and I invite all of you to listen. Start wherever you like: it's more a matter of taste than quality, and Blue Moon Blue is as good an entry point as any. back to reviews
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