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Old 2011.07.02, 09:16 AM   #121
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The album seems to be getting great user reviews on amazon.co.jp, for what it's worth.
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Old 2011.07.02, 09:33 AM   #122
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Originally Posted by frecklegirl View Post
Weird that this thread isn't blowing up more... usually a new album pulls everyone out of the woodwork and I mean EVERYONE. Maybe because it's mostly perceived as good, people aren't coming to gawk at the hate??
I look at more as this is an extremely average album with no real peaks and valleys. There aren't any really polarizing songs like Toumei Ningen, mostly hated songs like BB Queen, or mostly loved songs like Kimaru on this album. It just exists with a consistent quality throughout the whole album. With the exception of the new Tengoku arrangement, the album doesn't do anything new so there isn't much new discussion to be had.

I do have less than stellar things to say about Denki no Nai Toshi and Katsute wa Otoko to Onna though. I'll get around to them before I take off for the summer.

I will say, though, that it's quite disappointing to not see the new faces and returning people actually discuss the good and the bad of the album. The return of Tsuchiya was nice (missed ya, buddy!), but where is everybody else?

Originally Posted by so_cold View Post
The only track I like is 08. 恐るべき大人達 (Osorubeki Otona-tachi). It sounds a little golden oldies radio - more 70s than 90s(?), but very decent, like something her brother would sing.
The funny thing is you say 70s, Jihad thought 90s, but I think 80s. It's timeless. It makes me think of an 80s searching movie montage. "Guy/cop walking the streets at night while searching for someone" kind of music. So far Kameda's getting the most love for the song, but Ukigumo deserves almost as much. The two of them compliment each other so well in the song.

Originally Posted by so_cold View Post
I'm not a fan of J-rock, which probably doesn't help. Old SR may have been Japanese and rock, but she wasn't conventionally "J-rock".
That's (sorta) been a complaint of the "haters" ever since Adult. Everything sounds made to fit into the restraints of a genre instead of taking a genre and adding elements from other genres to it to make it their own. It's produced some good songs, but it's nothing compared to solo SR (even SG).
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Old 2011.07.02, 09:53 AM   #123
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Been compulsively looping the following tracks for the past couple of days:

- Zettaichi tai soutaichi
- Atarashii bunmei kaika
- Kinjirareta asobi
- DOPAMINT! BPM 103
- Osorubeki otonatachi
- 21seki uchuu no ko
- Sora ga natteiru

That works out to be roughly half the album. The other half I listen to when I let the album play through, but as it stands now, after having gone through massive replay, these are the songs that I actively want to listen to on a daily basis. Especially the new Dopamint, I can't get enough of it.
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Old 2011.07.02, 11:29 AM   #124
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Originally Posted by Maou View Post
I look at more as this is an extremely average album with no real peaks and valleys. There aren't any really polarizing songs like Toumei Ningen, mostly hated songs like BB Queen, or mostly loved songs like Kimaru on this album. It just exists with a consistent quality throughout the whole album. With the exception of the new Tengoku arrangement, the album doesn't do anything new so there isn't much new discussion to be had.

I will say, though, that it's quite disappointing to not see the new faces and returning people actually discuss the good and the bad of the album. The return of Tsuchiya was nice (missed ya, buddy!), but where is everybody else?
I don't know if I actually posted when Sports was released, but I was definitely checking the board then.

I was surprised at how little I disagreed with you and Tokyo Jihad this time around! I wonder if the band is playing it safe to please as many fans as possible. Though does the band really pay attention to fan criticism as much as we think? I get the sense that the average Japanese fan likes whatever the TJ releases. Anyway, I do think that I'll probably come back to this album less because there are few surprises.

"Toumei Ningen" and "Killer Tune" are the two songs TJ that really blew me away when I first heard them. They're exciting! I've been listening to this album as BGM at work--something I probably could not do with Adult or Variety. I hate to call something "J-pop" because it essentially means Japanese music, and I am a huge fan of '70s and '80s "J-pop," but this album may be too soft around edges...too radio friendly. But, hey, it's not as watered down as "Senkou Soujo," luckily. And, to be fair, what current Japanese band is better than Tokyo Jihen?

I enjoyed the salyu x salyu album (produced by Cornelius...it sounds like most instruments are probably played by him too) that came out this year. If you guys are looking for something experimental, check that out. (I still prefer the TJ album.)
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Old 2011.07.02, 12:20 PM   #125
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Yeah, I don't have much to discuss because I stopped listening to the album after about three or four plays. The gap between the songs I love and songs I just like is much wider than it's been for any of their other albums. The messy ending to the album makes me just want to go back to the songs I love and ignore everything else even more. This album's a collection of great songs, but because they fit together so loosely, or in some cases not at all, it's not something I want to play again and again.

Originally Posted by Tsuchiya View Post
And, to be fair, what current Japanese band is better than Tokyo Jihen?
Sakanaction.
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Old 2011.07.02, 12:41 PM   #126
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Originally Posted by BanFan View Post
I heard their album 'Night Fishing' when it came out and thought it sounded nice...but a bit forgettable. They're too dance-oriented for my tastes!
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Old 2011.07.02, 02:40 PM   #127
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Maou and Fecklegirl, it is really weird that there was at least twice as much discussion in the five days before the album came out than the five days after. For all the herping and derping that there was at one point, the party seemed already over when people started receiving their copies.

Turtlefu, I completely agree. As much as I liked Denki and Kaze ni and thought Diopemint and Otona-tachi were very good, I have such a low desire to play through it again. I don't know why. I was not groaning my way through the album like Variety, or mustering the energy to listen like with Sports. I was fairly engaged when I listened through it. I spun it seven times beginning to end on the first day, and the next morning was back to listening to the music I was listening to the day previous. Maybe because the standout tracks (Otona-tachi, Bunmei-kaika, to a lesser extent Dopamint) generally aren't the types of song I reflexively turn to. I just rarely think about listening to an RnB track or a j-pop track; nothing to do with quality.

I think Tsuchiya may have a fair point about the band possibly catering to the audience. It's true we can't say for sure whether they do or not (though that twitter comment from Shiina is pretty revealing, ) but as Tsuchiya also said there felt to be too few surprises. Everything felt just a bit too calculated. Maybe that explains the pleasing listening experience, but lack of returning visits.
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Old 2011.07.02, 06:04 PM   #128
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Originally Posted by Superficial Fan View Post
Maybe people aren't talking about it because they are already bored by it?

I like pieces of the sound on this album, specific passages here and there, but not really entire song, let alone the entire album.
i'had to add that shiina vocals here aren't superb in some songs she is out of tune or just scream, she didn't give her personal style to many of the songs

maybe it's cause part of tj only make the melody and else, and she write after; i don't know but example in dopamint when it was realese (yes i know a lot here hate the song) is hear different and now ... in a lot of parts i had to turn down the volumen of my headphones

like orenji says, she had to return to smoke a little
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Old 2011.07.02, 06:47 PM   #129
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Originally Posted by juls View Post
i'had to add that shiina vocals here aren't superb in some songs she is out of tune or just scream
For the most part when she screams she's making a dramatic point that wouldn't sound nearly as good if it wasn't shouted out at the top of her lungs.

All in all this new record scores a meh so far from me, BUT I can't wait to see how these songs evolve in her live versions.
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Old 2011.07.02, 08:31 PM   #130
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The only time I've ever had a problem with Shiina's voice is in most of Muzai Moratorium. She had yet to develop her lower register.

I feel like she knows how to use her voice to perfectly voice emotion. See: Tsumi to Batsu, Bonsai Hada, Killer Tune, Souretsu
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