Perfect Despair
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| MUSIC REVIEWS FOR THE MASSES. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Best of 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nigo-- Ape Sounds | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I'd review this album, but.... come on, you all know how secretive Nigo and Ape are! Best keep my mouth shut and just let you listen for yourself. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mondo Grosso-- Life (feat. bird on Japanese tracks and FACE on English ones) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Talk about well-crafted songs. This 1-song/4 versions effort definitely wins that award. Bird certainly covers all the bases vocally (on the Jpns. version), and provides the punch necessary to make this one of the best songs of the Summer. Though vocals are not the only strength to this piece. A catchy beat, and ultra-smooth production all combine to make this some very enjoyable (almost loopable) listening. Mondo Grosso, whoever they might be, have done a good thing in putting together both very good English and Japanese versions of the same song-- not an easy feat. Not only does an English version make the track more internationally accessible, but it actually manages to keep alot of the character of the hit Japanese version. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Puffy-- The Very Best of Puffy/amiyumi jet fever | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| What comes to mind when you here the word "Puffy?"; Is it a flamboyant mega-bucks rap producer who acts like a bad boy and parades around w/ his Latin Super star girlfriend repackaging other people's music? Well, it shouldn't be. I recommend you immediately drive all thoughts of that Puffy from your mind and replace them w/ the Japanese girl duo who are pictured above. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This Puffy is all creativity and all talent. Aided by their own producer, Okuda Tamio (who actually writes the songs by himself rather than borrowing them from past hits), Ami and Yumi offer up a nice collection of all their biggest hits. With highlights that include track 2 and it's Fantasy Island-esque 70s instrumentation, and also #5, Umi he to, Puffy will have you singing along in no time. That is if you can sing in Japanese (or Mandarin in the case of tracks 19 and 20). | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| So, like I said, drive the lesser Puffy from your mind, and fill your heads w/ amiyumi jet fever. Trust me, you'll be better off for it. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| hitomi-- Love 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| A very nice Single+3. The hit song off this is of course Love 2000, which is a certainly an energy-filled piece that grabs your attention right away. But, when it comes to long-term listenability, my pick actually goes to the #3 track, on which hitomi got a little bit of help from some French friends. Though somewhat reminiscent of that classic Sugar Shack, it's a neat song that can get stuck in your head w/ out too much trouble. As CD singles go, this is an overall good one, that thankfully shies away from space-wasting instrumentals and different versions of the same song, and actually delivers 4 separate listenable songs. Hats off to hitomi I say. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Usagipop-- super cute essay | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Though not a new release, Usagipop's first album is worthy of a review. Full of fun-to-listen-to songs, whis is almost a pop must. The homemade feel of the album gives it a more intimate feel, though at times an electric guitar here or there might help give it some extra kick (the album features acoustic guitar only). There are lots of catchy tunes here, and many quickly become sing-along favorites that leave one wanting to hear more and more. All in all, a good first outing for a group we'll doubtless (see below) be hearing more from soon. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I suppose one would call this the sophomore outing for Camridge, Mass.-based Usagipop, a quirky and creative quartet that puts out a steady stream of "lo-fi sample pop for the modern era," or something to that effect. The band continues to showcase the song-writing talents of W. David Marx, which are now notably backed up by the keyboard sound of Lonnie Everson, who is not the only new addition to the group's line up. In fact,t he band has doubled in size since their last album (now hitting an astonishing 4 people). The new more filled out roster gives the band more of a stage presence as well, and overall is a good thing. In terms of sound, Perfect Despair strives to be something slightly more than its predecessor, Super Cute Essay. While the delightfully light and poppy sound is still present on many of the new tracks, more of an electric, produced feel can also be found floating throughout. Some, such as the 70's Korean pop-inspired kar-li, even arch fully into the word of electronic beats, with not an acoustic guitar nor vocal (save some well-placed screaming) to be found. All in all, one can expect a good piece of work from Usagipop when the album finally is released later this year. In the mean time, check out their MP3s on the web and enjoy. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Usagipop-- Perfect Despair |
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| Dragon Ash feat. Rappagariya-- Deep Impact (single) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Showing that they have completely abandoned their rock roots for hip-hop fame, Dragon Ash releases this somewhat rough ride of a single. None of the smooth Puff Daddy-like sounds of "Grateful Days" here folks. This is pure rap noise, and not too well done. The fourth track has some quality to it though, but not enough to salvage this 4-song single. From image to sound, Dragon Ash has been reshaped to fit the needs of the music producers, whom someone must have told that hip-hop was in. The group's earlier efforts such as 1997's Mustang and 1998's Buzz Songs showed a completely differnt, and talented side of the group, even though they may not have garnered much mainstream success or recognition. There is alot of talent to this group, and their last full length album, Viva la Revolution (1999) still showed this. But, with singles like I Love Hip-Hop and now Deep Impact, one has to wonder if the group has simply been led too far astray. Final words: ditch the Wu Wear and go back to Independant Trucks. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The Smashing Pumpkins-- Machina/the machines of God | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Well, here it is, another Pumpkins album. Going out of his way to rock after the lukewarm reception to 1998's somewhat less-than-rocking Adore, Billy Corgan delivers here. With tracks like The Everlasting Gaze, the album's first single, and #3, Stand Inside Your Love, there are plenty of songs here to please even the most metal-loving fans. Jimmy Chamberlain's drumming cleary has reenergized the band's sound, giving it a driving edge that was lacking on Adore, and proving that the Pumpkin's are not simply a one man act. Guitarist, James Iha however remains silent this time around, and Machina showcases none of his vocal talents, nor those of the pumpkin's now departed bassist D'arcy who had at times past lent her voice to a track or two. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Amuro Namie-- Genius 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In Amuro's first full-length album since going on maternity hiatus, she and producer Tetsuya Komura try to recapture the sleekly produced hi-tech dance sound that rocketed her to fame in the late 90s. Some songs sound classicly Amuro-esque, while in others she tries to strike out in a new direction. Highlights include tracks 7 & 8, which offer the upbeat Amuro sound that fans know and love. On #4, Leaving for Las Vegas, she follows through with some of the more experimental directions that were eveident in her last album Concentration 20. Of course the TLC and American influences are lurking behind the scenes as always, but Genius is still a very listenable album in its own right, as it has to be. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| This is really a pivitol album for both Ms. Amuro and Mr. Komura, as she needs to prove that she's still hip enough to be in the the queen of the ko-gal scene (hence ensuring the survival of her career), something that TK has great interest in, as Amuro along with Suzuki Ami is one of his only 2 remaining stars. But, neither of them seems to have reason to worry, as the album is indeed a solid piece of J-pop genius (get it, Genius? right.) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Oasis-- Standing on the Shoulders of Giants | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Oasis is back to classic form on this album. As many are quick to point out, the band is again at their Beatles-inspired best. While Oasis has seen some personnel changes since their last outing, the differences are not immediately recognizable to the casual listener, as Noel Gallagher's vocals continue to dominate the band's sound. While not quite seeming to have the instant-listenability-magic of What's the Story Morning Glory? this latest addition to the Oasis discography is worth at least a trial outing. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||