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.

Concert Review: Delicious Bump Show 2010 featuring the pillows

Never before have I traveled so far to see a concert, but then, the pillows aren't just any other band. the pillows have a sound that is somehow able to brighten your day no matter what kind of mood you're in. You could be sad, angry, depressed, and still somehow, the pillows are able to break the language barrier, and uplift the soul with their music.

My journey took me from Chicago to the city of Pomona at The Glass House, which is about two hours east of LA. You wouldn't think much would be going on here in this city, but the pillows and their friends were able to make quite a statement. This was the band's fourth tour in North America, however it was their shortest. Only two shows were played, both in the state of California, and it didn't help their bassist Jun Suzuki was unable to make it due to passport issues. However, front man Sawao Yamanaka brought three bands from his label, Delicious Label, to give the US a taste of some truly great alternative rock.

The first band to perform that night was all girl band Pop Chocolat. Consisting of the standard three piece band and a keyboardist, the band got the show off to a bit of a rocky start. The guitarist's amp went out immediately after the first song started, and made for an awkward moment as the tech guys tried to fix it. The band seemed to be a bit shaken up from it, but during their short set were able to show some signs of life. The band was pretty unique in that their was no clear lead singer. One song would be the guitarist, the next the bassist, and all throughout the girls would make some lovely harmonies underneath. Even the drummer was able to get in on it, and definitely seemed like she was having fun doing so.

After their quick set, the next band, Monokuro came up. Now the lead singer/guitarist was wearing a Sonic Youth shirt, so I knew what was in store. The trio was very loud, abrasive, and used plenty of distortion... a perfect combination. Excellent melodies were inside the walls of fuzz that came through the speakers, and the singer/guitarist was very showy, and was able to really get the crowd moving. He played at a frantic pace, as if his life depended on getting through the song.



With the first two openers done, one of the bigger names came to the stage, an all-girl alt-rock outfit named Noodles. One can compare the Noodles to a Japanese version of The Breeders. There's plenty of quirks in the band's music, written almost solely by vocalist/guitarist Yoko. Her silvery vocals sync up perfectly to her poppy hooks blended with fuzzy guitars and bass, making many interesting melodies. The band did seem to put out better material before their lead guitarist left the band several years ago, however. The band never reached out for a replacement, leading to more simple structure songs; it was most of these songs that were played. Still, there was plenty of great material being played at this show from different parts of their catalogue. The song Traditional Case was played early in the set, and hearing its blaring guitar was really amazing, especially during the short little guitar solo that followed. The crowd began getting into the show more at this point as the Noodles have also toured the US several times, with many people yelling out random song titles. Another stand out track from the set with bubbly pop rocker Ingrid Said, with the lyrics seemingly asking the audience "What do you want?" If the people wanted some alternative rock with inventive melodies, well they got it. It wasn't long after that song was played that the people really got what they wanted... the pillows.

Yamanaka and the rest of the band walked out to the crowd amidst plenty of cheers and fanfare, and he wasted no time giving in to the people's desires. The band led of the set with fan favorite I Think I Can. Right away, lead guitarist Yoshiaki Manabe ripped into the song. Having seen the pillows two times prior to this, I've come to realize that when Manabe plays his guitar live, he does it effortlessly. It's almost as if he doesn't need to try, it comes naturally. During the solo he'll be swaying from side to side, or walking up to someone near the edge if the stage and showing off his technical prowess. While the band played mainly songs from the TV anime FLCL, some new songs were peppered in, including a couple songs from the band's latest album released last October, OOPARTS. Yamanaka prefaced it saying these were band new songs (not to some fans however) and began playing the dynamic album opener, Dance With God. While the song was somewhat lacking in feeling on the studio version, playing it live brought out the emotion tenfold as Yamanaka wailed during the lyrics to the roaring guitar during the chours, and then becoming more pensive during the quieter verse segments, which were punctuated by dueling guitars, something that Yamanaka has dabbled in on past albums. Drummer Shinichiro Sato, though quite in demeanor, had some excellent licks and fills going on in the song as well, showing off his own cunning.

The band continued to go through a number of classics such as the anthemic Little Busters, bass-heavy number Funny Bunny, and of course the classic theme from FLCL, Ride on shooting star. While it was great hearing all these songs again, the performance could've been a bit tighter had Suzuki made it out to play bass. Instead, the bassist from Monokuro filled in for the night, making the set list very static. When chants erupted to play golden classic Swanky Street off of 1997's Please Mr. Lostman, all Yamanaka could do was smile and shake his finger as the interm bassist didn't know how to play the song. Having a band with such a large discography totaling over 200 songs, it'd be great to hear more variety, especially this being the band's 4th tour in the US. But with the situation the way it was, the pillows were still able to cater to the majority of the crowd, and put on a performance full of energy during their 12 song set.

the pillows eventually came back for a two song encore, leading off with as close to a ballad as you can get with the band, One Life. Manabe hit his parts perfectly and you could tell every single person's eyes were focused right on him as he drove into the lifting guitar solo, swaying from side to side as if in a trance. Yamanaka then announced the final song, one everyone knew was coming, Last Dinosaur, a song one can't help but jump around too. The entire floor seemed to begin shaking as the audience couldn't contain themselves to one spot on the dance floor. Yamanaka's vocals, though getting tired, were full of life, as Manabe went into his solo with a blistering pace; a perfect way to end the night.

All in all, the pillows put on exactly the kind of show their fans have become used to, full of energy, intensity, and spirit. Even with the band all in their 40's they show no sign of slowing down. Yamanaka addressed the crowd halfway through the set saying that even though the band was old, they were still young at heart, and will keep on making new music. This was of course greeted to a raucous applause. With 20 years and 16 studio albums under the belt, you'd think they would slow down, but this band never does, so all we can do is expect more great music from them in the future. Yamanaka expressed hope that they'd be back in the United States again someday. If and when that day comes, as the band isn't getting any younger unfortunately, it's a show that simply can't be put off. To see great music and one of the most lively performances from a band in any country, the pillows top the lists of must-see live bands.