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Tracklist |
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01 - 2005年世界旅行
02 - ザ・コミュニケーション
03 - ロボットでした
04 - 急所
05 - タコ物語
06 - はて人間は?
07 - 貫通前
08 - スイートスポット
09 - ソフトに死んでいる
10 - 宇宙人の引越し |
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Review |
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Yura Yura Teikoku's long years as indie rock icons have obviously earned them the questionable privilege of having complete control over their work. While this is certainly a blessing for the artist as they can do whatever they want, it does have the unfortunate effect of creating a number of albums that have little pop sensibility and will turn a number of listeners off right away. If you need evidence, look no farther than Sweet Spot.
One of the oldest tricks in the music business is "hooks in front". If you can't catch a listener within the first couple songs they'll put down the headphones or hit the next button on the changer of the 6-CD display. Now let's take a look at the first five songs on Sweet Spot. Four of them weigh in at longer than five minutes and rely entirely on one riff to carry the song. The other (Kyuusho) is atrociously mixed and unnecessarily noisy. If I hadn't promised to review this album, by the fifth song came around I would have ripped the CD from the player and destroyed it in the most convenient way possible, cursing the wasted expenditure.
However, the good news is that there is some redemption to be found in the last five songs. The sixth song, "Hate Ningen Ha?" quickly restored my confidence. Over ceasless bass riff and guitar interplay Guitar/Vocal Sakamoto Shintaro croons, slipping into a seldom used falsetto at the end of every phrase. "Kantsuu Mae" follows, a straightforward driving number that is a bit of fun to listen to but starts to wear out its welcome, even though it's only 2 minutes 37 seconds long.
The next song, Sweet Spot, is quite a change for Yura Yura Teikoku, adding Teranishi Chiaki on the piano. It opens with Teranishi doodling out some classic jazz piano before the drums come in and it becomes one of the rambling mellow numbers straight out of Shibire/Memai (the same female vocalist, Takeda Kaori even makes an appearance). However, the added piano adds quite a bit to the song, keeping the sound fresh even though the other parts aren't anything that we haven't heard before.
The last two songs, "Soft ni Shindeiru" and "Uchuujin no Hikkoshi" are guilty of the same laziness that plagued the first five songs, but thankfully their shorter running times soften the blow a little bit.
Overall, the album is a bit of a let-down given the strength of all their previous albums. However, "Sweet Spot" and "Hate Ningen Ha?" are certainly worth a listen if you have a chance. Just make sure that you wait until after you've listened to the whole CD before making the decision to throw it out the window. |
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