Album Review: Sawao Yamanaka- Discharge

Album Rating: 4.5/10



It looks like 2010 been a very busy year for Sawao Yamanaka, more commonly known as the front man for the pillows. January saw the release of a new single for the pillows called Rodeo Star Mate, and this was right after they celebrated their 20th anniversary on September 16th, 2009 with a few new songs, and then October's release of their latest album OOPARTS. Then Sawao decided to go back into the studio with Jiro from Glay and work on the next album for his side project The Predators entitled This World which drops this August. But sandwiched in between his two bands, Sawao still found a way to release even more music. However this time, it was as a solo artist, with the release of Discharge last week. Sawao received help from quite a few musicians in the studio, with his backing band including the pillows support bassist Jun Suzuki, Noodles guitarist Yoko, former Ellegarden drummer Hirotaka Takahashi, and appearances from other musicians from bands like The Birthday and Chatmonchy. In the grand scheme of things, it's not that surprising he's taking on all this work, seeing as in his 20+ year career as a musician, he's never been on hiatus. But still, that's a lot of material for just one year, and makes one wonder how much of it is filler.

Lately the consensus around the internet lately is that the pillows have been dipping a little bit in terms of quality songwriting (which is solely done by Sawao) with their past few albums. It's sad to say this decline is still apparent on Discharge. The album is very short, just under 30 minutes, and some of it just seems half-baked. It opens up with a short little number called Music Creature, and was probably the worst possible track to open the album. The song is very slow paced and features some of the worst "Engrish" possibly ever recorded. The problem is, it doesn't get much better. The entire album is sung by Sawao in English, and somehow, his English singing has gotten worse as time went on. If you were to look back on some of the pillows song such as Subhuman or Gazelle City, in the early to mid-2000's, you'll see solidly enunciated English and grammar. Recently, can't say the same. Now 9 times out of ten, language makes no difference when it comes to music, but when the singing is so off balance, and the grammatical mistakes so erroneous, it really starts to take away from the music and has the listener focusing too much on the gibberish. For example, the chorus for the song Purple Moonlight is "I won't listen to rock tonight/I told such falsehood/I may be high." One would think it wouldn't be too hard to find someone to proofread the lyrics so listeners wouldn't think Sawao actually is high.

However, there are some highlights on the album that show Sawao's tendency to write catchy hooks and riffs to keep the listener entertained. Dawn Speech is a very mellow song which is accentuated by the velvety back up singing of Yoko, giving a very interesting dynamic to the song alongside Sawao's vocals. The chorus is simple, yet very engaging. We also get to see a bit more of Sawao's guitar chops in this song, as well as the rest of the album as he plays all the guitar solos; a job usually relegated to Yoshiaki Manabe when playing with the pillows. The songs Angel and The Burn Bread in My Clear Sea have some powerful choruses, almost seeming to ask to be sung along too. Purple Moonlight is another mellow song with some very interesting effects being used. The bass line rolls throughout the whole song, almost entrancing the listener, followed by a distorted guitar and Sawao's vocals masked in a tremolo effect, which works well for the song.

What's weird though is it seems that Sawao was running out of ideas for the album, and maybe his creative juices reached a road block due to overwork in the past year. The last two tracks are essentially repeats. Birthday is a song Sawao released under his name back in the early 2000's on a compilation for his label, and there are virtually no changes to the arrangement at all. And then is the album closer Silver Moonlight, which is very strange. It's essentially a more up-tempo, "rocked-out" version of Purple Moonlight, and decidedly inferior to it. It's nice to see the different directions the song could be taken in, but wouldn't it be better to only put one on the album instead of making it seem one of the songs was tacked on just for filler purposes?

All in all, the album is pretty mediocre compared to the standards Sawao set with the pillows during the late 90's and beyond. However, there are some real diamonds buried in the rough on this album, and if some of the songs were fleshed out more, they could've been real gems. If your a fan of the pillows, this is still a must listen. One can only hope that Sawao slows down a bit and really thinks about what made his music so identifiable in the past, and tries to reconnect with those creative instincts.

Album Review: Luminous Orange- Songs of Innocence

Album Rating: 9/10



In the early 1990's, alternative rock was at it's peak with several different styles and musicians going out over the airways. Grunge, post-punk, noise rock, shoegaze. It feels like a lot of these styles came and went from the general public's eye after a few years, as did the musicians performing them. Nowadays most of the bands in these genres are found in underground circles. There's at least one band that hasn't lost their spirit yet, and still continue to tour the world and make good music, if not better music than yesteryear. Luminous Orange has been a huge part of Japan's underground shoegaze scene since they were formed by Rie Takeuchi in 1992. Although the band has essentially become a solo project of Takeuchi, Luminous Orange has been dazzling fans for almost two decades with their glittering dream pop punctuated by layers upon layers of distorted guitars and beautiful melodies.

The band's sixth studio album, Songs of Innocence was released earlier this month after nearly two years of recording. The album is, simply put, a sonic masterpiece. Takeuchi composes beautiful melodies and makes great use of layering the guitars to achieve the desired sound. Her shimmering vocals only add to the beauty. Most times, her voice is nearly indecipherable behind the wall of sound, but the melodies and harmonies still break through, making the vocals an instrument in and of itself. The rhythm section on this album can't be forgotten either. Many of the drums on the album were contributed by former Number Girl and Zazen Boys drummer, Ahito Inazawa. Wherever there's an opportunity for a drum fill, it's taken advantage of and meshes superbly with the rest of the elements, never taking away from the sweet melodies and harmonies going on.

Lots of great bass going on as well, especially in stand-out track Blaze of Light. The bass line throughout is absolutely mesmerizing, and once the chorus goes back into the verse, the bass takes on a new life and holds it own in a duel with the myriad of guitars. It seems more often than not in modern day mixing, the bass is usually forgotten and buried so deep you have to strain yourself to hear it. You think it would be the same with Luminous Orange, due to the massive layering of guitars. Despite that, the bass comes through during the entire album in perfect clarity. It never fights with the guitar or vocals, or overpowers it. It simply complements it adding even more for the listener to pick out during the auditory onslaught.




From the beginning of the album, the listener will be sucked in from the soft melody of the title track. Synth and a whistle solo add to the upbeat atmosphere of the song, but once it ends, the album really starts to take off. Untold gets to that classic Luminous Orange level, the sound that defines them: roaring guitars and feedback... vocals that will make you absolutely melt... a melody that you just can't forget. It's also amazing how much of a visual you can get in your mind's eye while listening to the album. Sea of Lights, for example, starts off ominously, as if you find yourself floating down a river with the only source of light coming from far down the shoreline. Once the buzzing guitar line kicks in during the chorus, you'd think you were listening to a 90's college rock anthem outside in the school parking lot.

Even stripped down, to the most basic level, the melodies still resonate on the same level. Autumn Song and Dusk, Train, and the Bridge have noticeable acoustic guitar. At some points, the acoustic guitar is the only guitar track present, and here we see that Takeuchi's is not afraid to put her vocals at the forefront for a few lines. In these few moments we hear her pristine voice disproving any small doubts anyone may have had that she was trying to hide her voice. The rest of the album has a multitude of uplifting melodies that hearken back to other 90's shoegazers such as Lush and Pale Saints, the downpour of guitars swirling and wrapping the listener in a blanket of enchantment.

Songs of Innocence stands up to the rest of Luminous Orange's discography, solid through and through. It very well may be the best record put out by the band in the past decade, which makes this a perfect way to open this one. One listen cannot suffice with this album. And it's not that this album is a grower. It's because there is just so much going on in each and every song, it's impossible to fully grasp the entire album in one listen. A good pair of headphones will be the best tool in picking out every musical nuance that Takeuchi has poured into the album. More and more is brought to light with each subsequent listen. It's as if you're peeling back one more guitar layer with each listen, revealing the nature to each song.