[Superficial Fan]

Would anyone else agree with describing part of "Tsumiki-asobi," the rhythmic horn-like part (that comes in for the first time at around 0:50), as being kind of "big beat"? I've always been a bit fuzzy on the boundaries of that sub-genre, but that part of the song reminds me of some things I've seen labeled that way. The song definitely feels like it has some connection to 90s "dance music," anyway.

I seriously doubt that I originally noticed just how far out Saito Neko goes at the end of "Onaji Yoru" the first couple times I heard it. He's so quiet about it that it just kind of sneaks up on the listener.

I've hardly ever said much about this album, and I don't find all that much comment about it around, even where Shiina Ringo is being discussed, but can I just say that it's a great album, and it needs to be said that "Keikoku" is fantastic. And while I've often emphasized the melodic side of Ringo Shiina's music, her rhythmic sense is also pretty reliable. This stuff is rhythmically solid in a way that a shit load of indie rock is not (which makes me annoyed when I occasionally see people describing SR as some sort of "indie-friendly" j-pop, not that she isn't exactly, but it plays down the pop strengths in her music in a way that bugs me). Anyway "Keikoku" is a good example of how her songs can turn out more rhythmically engaging than you might expect when they start out. There's a switch-up at 0:36/0:37, and then again at 0:55. Plus the beats that start the song feel more funk/hip-hop than vanilla rock, to me.

"Morphine" has a little quasi-Latin percussion figure going on.