 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Tracklist | |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
01 - GUILTY 02 - 静かの海 (Shizuka no Umi) 03 - GO BACK TO CHINA 04 - WORLD'S END SUPERNOVA 05 - BUTTERSAND / PIANORGAN 06 - アマデウス (Amadeus) 07 - ARMY 08 - MIND THE GAP 09 - 水中モーター (Suichuu Motor) 10 - 男の子と女の子 (Otoko no Ko no Onna no Ko) 11 - THANK YOU MY GIRL 12 - 砂の星 (Suna no Hoshi) 13 - PEARL RIVER |
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
Review | |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
I can't help but feel jealous at the people who haven't heard Quruli's fourth album released through JVC's Speedstar label. It is just so full of spontaneity and musical genius that I still long for that euphoric response that came with my first listen. I don't mean to imply that the album gets boring over repeated listens. With each additional listen you find something new in the sea of hooks, melodies and skillful sound engineering. Compared to Quruli's other albums, this one stands on its own as being significantly more experimental and atmospheric than the others. The first track, "Guilty", opens the album majestically. Everything builds up towards a soaring finish, with beautiful guitar arpeggios, crashing drums and a soaring, heart-stopping climax. The album quickly turns a complete 180 degrees with the third track, "Go Back To China." This is more like Quruli's previous work, an upbeat rock number accentuated with melodic guitars and catchy drumming, but with the additional bonus of a gong. With "World's End Supernova", one of the two singles, the album again changes its direction. One of Quruli's most electronic tracks, it thumps onward with a 4/4 beat and a singalong chorus that you can't help but dance to. "Amadeus" is a solemn ballad, where Kishida Shigeru's haunting voice is backed by piano, bass and classical strings. I'm not the best at naming classical instruments. But if you listen closely, you'll find that there's a ghostly ambience in the background. As the song gains strength, so do the effects. It's beautiful. The next track, "Army", might be my favorite. Bass, electric and acoustic guitars all work together perfectly with studio effects and folk-inspired drumming to complement Kishida Shigeru's somber, almost nostalgic vocals that seems to blend into the music and become one. "Suichuu Motor" takes off immediately with some catchy guitar riffs, and when the other instruments join in, you're already sky high. The vocals are masked with a myriad of effects, but their artificial, playful feel go hand-in-hand with the uplifting nature of the song. It's a long song, clocking at 7:00 flat, but it doesn't feel like it drags on. You almost don't want it to end. "Otoko no Ko to Onna no Ko" is another melancholy rock tune, well suited to Kishida Shigeru's voice. The second of the two singles, "Otoko no Ko to Onna no Ko" is stripped of any electronic effects that might have garnished the previous tracks, and remains just a soulful ballad with loads of heart and emotion. The last track, "Pearl River", is minimalism at its finest. Dreamy vocals, layered over each other, are backed by an organ and the sounds of waves hitting the side of a boat. The vocals end early, leaving you with a few more minutes of a coastside soundscape. You can almost imagine yourself sitting at the edge of a dock, the water splashing beneath your feet and seagulls flying overhead. The thing about this album is that, even though I gave it a glorifying review, it's definitely not for everyone. Even fans of Quruli's other work might have trouble cracking the shell of this album, and it is a hard shell indeed. But inside this hard shell is a proverbial pearl of an album. The lines that divide musical genres are blurred into one, as sublime as the beautiful ambient soundscapes that stir in the background of most of the tracks in this album. In some songs, minimalism takes over. In others, there is a hint of excess. But as a whole, it all clicks. If I were to judge Quruli on this album, I'd whole-heartedly agree with the title. The world is definitely theirs. |
|
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
back to reviews | |
|||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
||
|
Disclaimer | Contact | Blog | RSS Feed | |
|
||
|
||
|
© 2005-2007 keikaku.net | |
|
||