2013.12.23, 03:34 PM | #8942 |
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2013.12.24, 08:04 AM | #8943 |
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Yo Inseu, I'm really happy for you that you got 7 CLT posts in a row. But I'm gonna talk about some of the last 2013 albums of all time. Of all time!
As 2013 concludes, two artists that put out my favorite japanese albums strike while irons are hot. Without any recharge time, Oomori Seiko further pumps the well that brought the fantastic full-length debut Mahou ga Tsukaenai nara Shinitai as well as a handful of bonus releases in the afterglow. I didn’t get to talk about Kinoko Teikoku’s wonderful Eureka in any of my end of year mainly because the album was a bit confused as to what it wanted to be. Did Kinoko Teikoku want to be Boris-lite and embrace some drone and slow tempos like the fantastic opener demonstrated or did they want to be a shoegazier up-beat alt-rocker – like a more legit Bugy Craxone? On their new Long Goodbye EP, Kinoko Teikoku hints at a decision. Kinoko Teikoku really don’t decide one way or the other, though they do favor their crowd-pleasing rocker feet in this release, the band does an admirable job of reconciling both sounds. My main problem with the poppier songs on Eureka was that they were mostly nondescript. This time the band puts more thought into their arrangements and performances through the first three tracks. To me, the songwriting on these tracks are just punchier and more memorable. The heart of Long Goodbye is “Flower Girl” -- the dissonant, seven minute dream. This song still convinces me that the less standard routes the band explores -- the better. Even the minute-and-change puncher “Make L” is fantastic. Even if there are less tracks on this release, Kinoko Teikoku improves upon Eureka in just about every way. Quickly do I become a believer of Kinoko Teikoku. I feel like I just got done writing about Oomori Seiko, and she already has another new full length? That seems to be the standard for her so far. Everyone seems to have fallen in love with Oomori Seiko in the last few months. If you haven’t then you are likely befuddled by what all the hype is about. The way she attacks her songs with minimal structure can be divisive. In my write up for Mahou, to describe her singing style I likened her as more Yoko Ono than (Puffy) “AmiYumi.” On Zettai Shoujo Oomori tips that scale in the other direction. She opens the album with two of her most produced tracks. “Zettai Kanojo” and “Midnight Seijun isei Kouyuu” ring in like any other jpop-starlet you’ll run into on Jpopsuki. If you are Idol-phobic like myself -- these are two of the best tracks on the record. They are essentially Oomori Seiko songs, just super charged (and though I can’t decipher the language, mentions of Disney, and “fuck you,” I’m pretty sure she slips, make me think these songs are pointed or ironic.) Afterwards, she slides into her more comfortable acoustic tracks. Oomori definitely rounds those edges a bit on her latest, but she does so judiciously. She can still be deliciously abrasive like on the bouncy “Are Sore” which is the most reminiscent of her debut. Altogether Oomori ups the production. Fuller arrangements, better recording give even more personality to Oomori’s music (check that tasty sax on “Tenrankai no e” or the noisey half of “Over the Party”.) But is everything better? When I wrote about Mahou, I had to do some mental gymnastics to not bring up Shiina Ringo. Its right there on the cover for goodness sake. When comparing Oomori’s two full lengths, more Shiina Ringo analogies can be brought up. Zetai Shoujo is more akin to Muzai Moratorium, and Mahou like Shiina’s leaked home demos. Shiina mentioned Shouso Strip as an extension of Muzai, as many of the songs were generated in the same blast of creativity. The close release dates between Oomori’s releases suggests similarly. In my years of enduring Shiina Ringo fandom, there’s never been a consensus over Muzai or Shouso -- the two were certainly separate from KZK and separated further from chronologically later releases. But “one or the other” changed with personalities and time. I suspect a similar fate for Oomori’s sister releases. Will you be the person that favors Zetai Shoujo’s slightly more developed and varied sound palette and found “Zettai Kanojo” to be an easier song to grasp? Or, will you always prefer Mahou’s lo-fi, stripped sensibilities. Those first two tracks definitely have me excited to hear Oomori expand and build her sound in more directions, and the fact that the rest of this album is anchored by typical Oomori-fare assuages me that maybe she’ll keep her core sound for years to come. Oomori begins to stretch her sound in the studio and I expect a leap with album three. Ratings: I give Long Goodbye an actual “eureka!” out of ten. I give Zetai Shoujo a Mahou ga Tsukaenai nara Shinitai out of ten.
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2013.12.25, 07:28 PM | #8944 |
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Oomori Seiko is so weird to me. Like, she wants to wear so many different hats at once. On one hand, she wants to be a satirical, almost ironic, idol parody. On the other hand, she wants to be taken seriously as a folk/indie singer-songwriter. But then THOSE songs she can sometimes end up with a Midori scream, so is she making fun of pretentious folk singers as well?
She's somewhere in the nebulous of Togawa Jun-Midori (Shiina is only tangental to this) of some kind of vague idol parody or critique. The only problem is that I have no idea what she is critiquing. I'm not entirely sure it's a parody anymore either. At least with Togawa and Midori I knew where to stand (though Mariko's solo career makes Midori a bit more enigmatic). I'm also not a Togawa super-fan by any means, but I think DG mentioned Togawa is a producer for Oomori? Which makes total sense, because some songs (like "Kitty Blues") seem to be almost derivative of Togawa's work. It's very Suki Suki Daisuki-esque to me, but lacks the ironic lyrics. |
2013.12.25, 07:35 PM | #8945 |
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Togawa isn't a producer for Oomori, she has however, written a chorus for her on the KERA project that she worked on. They have also got a (show released giveaway) CD-R thingy where Oomori covered a few Togawa tracks.
You say "Midori Scream" like Midori were not being serious. I'm pretty damn sure they were playing their hearts out on those albums and while playful at times, they are a band that did set out to be taken seriously... there's noting wrong with those screams whatsoever. When Oomori does them it sounds far more harsh, given the totally different style of music. CLT: A VERY METAL XMAS In other words, all the Mastodon albums aswell as Flood, Feedbacker, Amplifier Worship and Heavy Rocks (2003) by Boris.
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Disco! Life is dead Last edited by deadgrandma : 2013.12.25 at 07:50 PM. |
2013.12.26, 01:55 AM | #8946 | |
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There isn't one drop of irony in Oomori's music. Everything is genuine. Well, okay, maybe the first two tracks on the new album are a little ironic. But to me, they're more of a lampshade, or a "look what COULD be done using these sounds" than a more common, detachment for show. That's what I think Oomori's critique is: "normal pop is a waste of time, this is what pop should be." Its not supposed to be some Spaceballs, Saturday Night parody.
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2013.12.26, 07:01 AM | #8947 | |||
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Here's where I am split though:
You are of the opinion that Oomori is genuine in everything she does. I have a feeling that some aspect of her work is some sort of parody, but now I'm not so sure. In the beginning, when I saw her dressed in idol clothes and then go on stage with a bunch of idols and sing this passionate folk song, I thought she was poking fun at idols. I'm not sure where DG stands on the "parody" aspect. Do you remember this:
I just get a feeling that THAT is what Oomori is going for, but I'm not so sure. I'm not being articulate today. Maybe the parody isn't the music but the presentation of the music (how she dresses, where and with whom she performs alongside). But you know, one day she could be performing at Tokyo Idol Festival and the next in an old church. |
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2013.12.26, 10:47 AM | #8948 | |||
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Oops, I meant to post my last couple posts in the Seiko Oomori thread, and this one accidentally went in there instead. |
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2013.12.27, 10:27 AM | #8949 |
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2013.12.30, 05:37 PM | #8950 |
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