Originally Posted by Inseu
Meanwhile, Asai Kenichi's solo album PIL is coming out on January 16th
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PIL features Watanabe Keiichi (the bassist from JUDE). Since Asai Kenichi and Watanabe Keiichi were the core members (JUDE didn't always have the same drummer), this is effectively another JUDE album - the first original one since 2005.
CD Japan saying that PIL is "the first Asai Kenichi album in 4 years" is really downplaying the significance of it. Asai Kenichi and Watanabe Keiichi were always great together no matter what support they had, so I'm more optimistic about this than I was about PONTIACS.
If they follow up with a PIL tour (with plenty of opportunity to play other songs), that could very well be even better than the album. I've always suspected that Asai Kenichi's solo-career was a more loosely-staffed JUDE, and now it's practically official - even if only for a brief moment. They probably won't be able to get the Skarapara drummer on a tour, but in light of the Sphinx Rose tour (featuring Shiino Kyoichi on drums) and this album, Asai Kenichi clearly has access to everyone he would need to reassemble JUDE as it was during the Highway Child era. It might be under the "Asai Kenichi" name, but so was the DEVIL single. It doesn't really matter what the partnership is called. What matters is how awesome it's going to be.