[TJ] 2011.06.29 - Dai-hakken (CD) [Album]

[karateexplosion]

A challenger appears! First post mode activated!

Decided to finally come out of the woodwork and write something on this quagmire of a forum after, oh I suppose, years of lurking? Mainly due to boredom, or perhaps I've actually stared caring from the shadows. Either way, let's review this bitch.


PLAY BY PLAY:

01. Tengoku e Youkoso -For the Disc-
I was a huge fan of the original myself, so while the KZKurification is pretty neat, it really falls flat for me. Overall, the song is entirely too dense, with all the instruments being too muddled to really create any interesting intricacies. And to be quite honest, I really don't find that there's any parallel in this to KZK, other than the charm of being "experimental". Anyway, what it really lacks is the buildup of the single version. Say what you want about the production or tone of the -For the Tube-, but it had a hell of a climax. This one, in my opinion, is largely forgettable and one of the number of duds on Daihakken. Also, didgeridoo in the background or just a bunch of baritones going "ahhhhhhhhh"? You decide.

02. Zettaichi tai Soutaichi
Yuck. Sounds like a sports reject. Denpi Tsuushin (which I liked) meets Byoushou Public (which I still hate, due to the "wall of noise" factor) with and awkward Izawa melody pasted over it. I will say that Kameda has some interesting fills, at least, but they get completely lost in the jumbled mess that is this song. Trying too hard.

03. Atarashii Bunmei Kaika
I enjoy it. The band sounds very tight, something I'm usually not too concerned about; I actually kind of prefer each of the members doing their own thing as long as it's reined in by a good melody (see: Adult)(see, gone horribly awry: Variety). But it works here, even with the bland pop finish. It's got enough energy and it sure as hell is catchy enough to do so. Nobody's doing anything particularly shocking other than Ukigumo rocking the pants of the solo and the typical crispiness of Shiina's voice on held notes that we've all come to expect. Solid stuff.

04. Denki no Nai Toshi
Why this doesn't close the album is baffling to me. I'm sure as hell shuffling the playlist around. That aside, I really dig this song, and at this point, the album is starting to pick up. I'm a sucker for a good crescendo, the likes of Tegami, Rakujitsu, even put your camera down, so I eat this kind of junk up. What this song evokes more than anything for me, actually, is the JCHI version of Genjitsu ni Oite. I'm not sure why, maybe it's the chords. Anyway, there's plenty to love here; the recording quality in the fact that you can hear Hata's snare(s) reverberate from the accented piano chords (or maybe that's the sound of the pedal?); Shiina's enunciation and breathing, Kameda using a pick. All in all, it's beautiful, even if not quite in the leagues of the other Izawa-penned heavy hitters. My only complaint would be the tone/mixing on Ukigumo. He does some pretty interesting stuff, but it gets lost in the distortion and being generally low in the mix. One of my favorites - and first time I listened to it I almost skipped through because I thought the verses were weak!

05. Kaitei ni Sukuu Otoko
Aaaand, we're back. I genuinely have nothing good to say about this song. A blatantly offensive bass riff on top of what sounds like Ramp and Mirrorball rolled together into some hideous monster emanating all the failures of Variety from every pore. Just add some whistles and loudspeakers and I'm sure it will be terribly popular live.

06. Kinjirareta Asobi
Love this. Did someone already make the Blackout comparison? They did? Let's do it again. It sounds like Blackout.At least the chorus does. And being that Blackout, whatever you may think of it, is hands-down one of my favorite Toyko Jihen songs, naturally I'm partial. Even the instrumentals are similar. As far as the verses go, I dunno, they're very bleak, which totally works, I guess. My top pick.

07. DOPAMINT! BPM103
To be totally honest, I had no idea this was DOPAMINT! when it first started up. Mind you, I wasn't paying very close attention, but still. Quite an improvement, certainly pulled it from the depths of musical purgatory. It's still not well written, but at least I can tap my toes during.

08. Osorubeki Otonatachi
Koi wa Maboroshi anyone? Seems like the same bag, in my opinion, "Jihen does '70s RnB". Kameda even uses similar transitions/fills (almost exactly). I like it about as much as Koi wa Maboroshi. Which is a lot.

09. Nijuuichiseiki Uchuu no Ko
Wait, Kameda wrote this!? I'm incredulous. Blasphemy. Kidding aside, I would say this is up there with the better Kameda tunes. I do enjoy Izawa's rhodes lead at around 02:08. The funny thing I've always found about the stuff Kameda writes, is that he usually has the least interesting part of the song once it all comes together. I mean, I understand him writing it means that his bass will probably be the foundation, but you'd think he spice it up at least a little once it's all said and done. Anyway, it's catchy enough to even make up for the weird bass/guitar riff after the choruses.

10. Katsute wa Otoko to Onna
I'm pretty sure you're correct, Tsuchiya, sounds like a fretless to me (coming from another bassist). I can hear him noticeably go out of tune preparing for the slide at 00:59, and, honestly, those lines don't sound very economical for an upright at all. Could still be wrong though, I don't know upright nearly as well as fretted/fretless. Either way, I'm with you. For such an active bassline, it sure is muddy. But really, as far as I'm concerned, the bassline is all this song has going for it. Sure, Hata lays a nice groove, but the melody and vocals are forgettable (again), Izawa's playing four count organ chords and scales, and Ukigumo's guitar may as well be part of the rhythm section. I mean, I know he loves those dead notes and gratuitous wah pedal, but c'mon, I don't know if he could play less actual notes if he tried.

11. Sora ga Natteiru
The chorus to this is actually my ringtone at the moment. Really well put together; Kameda has some great riffs, Shiina sounds quite on par, Ukigumo foreboding riffing certainly sets the tone well, and even Izawa keeps up rather adequately. And heavens forbid! Hata actually gets a drum fill. Maybe I'm just no paying attention and because it came up in the song as I was writing, but I feel he should get more. Again, catchy enough to fly.

12. Kaze ni Ayakatte Ike
This song really just leaves me discombobulated. In my opinion, it's a half-assed, Sports-esque attempt at like, three different Foo Fighters songs. I think that's how I'd put it. It compliments Zettaichi tai Soutaichi very well, and will probably grow on me even less.

13. Onna no Ko wa Daredemo
I'm actually not entirely convinced anyone from Tokyo Jihen (save Shiina, duh) is playing in this song. Mainly for the reason, as an avid worshiper of Seiji Kameda, it doesn't really sound like him playing. I could be completely off my mark or perhaps he had no say in what he was to play, but it really doesn't. Now, Kameda is no stranger to the walking bassline, but he typically works mostly in fifths and pentatonic scales with gratuitous use of continuous half steps up and down (I forget the real name for this). If you listen the bassline of Onna no Ko wa Daredemo, it's much more varied with accidentals aplenty, except for the solo section, where it's literally just walking root chords! The only time I recall Kameda ever walking root chords was Toumei Ningen and even then there were some big differences. I dunno, call me crazy. Ain't his style though. All that aside, I like the song well enough, it's just has no appropriate place on the album. Same with -For the Tube-, probably why they're awkwardly tacked onto the end of Daihakken like a spoiler on a station wagon. And I like -For the Tube- better!

FINAL THOUGHT:

As has been brought up before, Daihakken is perfectly adequate. Sure, there're a couple stand-outs, but they don't stand out any harder that the stand-outs from other albums. I'll listen to this more than Variety or Sports, mainly because I listen to albums as one and both of those have far more jarringly offensive songs, but is is better? Not really. I long for the days of intricate, interesting instrumentation and catchy melodies outside of a pop framework. Lately, the arrangements, and maybe the production, have just been lazy, in my opinion. And really, Izawa struggles to write a hummable tune. I'm pulling for the guy, though. Also, I hope he someday learns to play the guitar better than say, me (to clarify, I'm not that great). Maybe Ukigumo will give him guitar (and facial hair) lessons.

[chibijelly]

Okay, here I am. I just did another listen-through... And I have my verdict. I'm still not completely happy, but whatever. D: It has to happen eventually.

01. 天国へようこそ For The Disc
★★★
It's better than the original version. At first listen, I didn't like it, but now it's grown on me. It makes for a decent album-opener. The arrangement is cool.

02. 絶対値対相対値
★★
Something's off about this - can't pinpoint what exactly. I want to like this, but I can't. Maybe it's her vocals? I don't know... I just don't like it.

03. 新しい文明開化
★★★★★
This track is amazingly fun and catchy. I'll never get tired of it.

04. 電気のない都市
★★★★★
Definitely the new 'tegami'... An absolutely beautiful track. I love the piano. Its placement is odd - it should've been the album-closer. I feel like it just gets lost amongst everything else.

05. 海底に巣くう男
★★★
I can't pinpoint why I don't like this as much. The bass is great. And the chorus is catchy.

06. 禁じられた遊び
★★★★★
Creepy-cool. All-around great track.

07. ドーパミント! BPM103
★★★
I never liked this song... The new arrangmenet is okay. Also - bonus points for snappage.

08. 恐るべき大人達
★★★★★
Love love love it. Everything about this is perfect.

09. 21世紀宇宙の子
★★★★★
So it's the new 'senkou shoujo'... I still love it.

10. かつては男と女
★★★★
Funky, yet relaxing.

11. 空が鳴っている
★★★★★
Another track I will always love. It's so overly-dramatic with a great chorus.

12. 風に肖って行け
★★★★
Very nice. Could've been another great album-closer. (Personally, I would just end the album here... because the next two tracks? No. They can leave.)

13. 女の子は誰でも
★
What are you even DOING on this album? I enjoy this song as a fun, fluffy b-side. But that's about it. It completely ruins the flow of the album.

14. 天国へようこそ For The Tube
★★★
I don't care how many versions of this song you throw at me - I still don't particularly enjoy it.

53/70 = 76% = C. I feel horrible about this. But yeah. I might like it more as times goes on... I'm just not feeling it yet. I tried.

[deadgrandma]

Originally Posted by chibijelly

Okay, here I am. I just did another listen-through... And I have my verdict. I'm still not completely happy, but whatever. D: It has to happen eventually.

01. 天国へようこそ For The Disc
★★★
It's better than the original version. At first listen, I didn't like it, but now it's grown on me. It makes for a decent album-opener. The arrangement is cool.

02. 絶対値対相対値
★★
Something's off about this - can't pinpoint what exactly. I want to like this, but I can't. Maybe it's her vocals? I don't know... I just don't like it.

03. 新しい文明開化
★★★★★
This track is amazingly fun and catchy. I'll never get tired of it.

04. 電気のない都市
★★★★★
Definitely the new 'tegami'... An absolutely beautiful track. I love the piano. Its placement is odd - it should've been the album-closer. I feel like it just gets lost amongst everything else.

05. 海底に巣くう男
★★★
I can't pinpoint why I don't like this as much. The bass is great. And the chorus is catchy.

06. 禁じられた遊び
★★★★★
Creepy-cool. All-around great track.

07. ドーパミント! BPM103
★★★
I never liked this song... The new arrangmenet is okay. Also - bonus points for snappage.

08. 恐るべき大人達
★★★★★
Love love love it. Everything about this is perfect.

09. 21世紀宇宙の子
★★★★★
So it's the new 'senkou shoujo'... I still love it.

10. かつては男と女
★★★★
Funky, yet relaxing.

11. 空が鳴っている
★★★★★
Another track I will always love. It's so overly-dramatic with a great chorus.

12. 風に肖って行け
★★★★
Very nice. Could've been another great album-closer. (Personally, I would just end the album here... because the next two tracks? No. They can leave.)

13. 女の子は誰でも
★
What are you even DOING on this album? I enjoy this song as a fun, fluffy b-side. But that's about it. It completely ruins the flow of the album.

14. 天国へようこそ For The Tube
★★★
I don't care how many versions of this song you throw at me - I still don't particularly enjoy it.

53/70 = 76% = C. I feel horrible about this. But yeah. I might like it more as times goes on... I'm just not feeling it yet. I tried.

7.6/10 is a bad score? That's higher than I would give it, and I don't feel horrible.

[W3iHong]

Dude, its 76%. An 'A' grade. Probably good enough.

Track 12 is awesome. "Fuck fuck fuck new sensation."

[Tokyo Jihad]

Typical EMFer" "Unfortunately, this album gets my lowest score ever: seven thumbs up."

[W3iHong]

Originally Posted by Tokyo Jihad

Typical EMFer" "Unfortunately, this album gets my lowest score ever: seven thumbs up."

It is relatively lower, meaning that all other albums are high than 7 thumbs up.

[lazer85]

I like "Kaze ni..." cause it sounds like Megaman (and this whole album sounds like coheed and cambria to me haha).

Hey guys, my mp3 player automatically deleted "Onna no ko" and "For the tube". I am not joking. I have a feeling I might like the album a little bit more now.....

[brad-t]

I'm a bit nervous to write here; obviously the member base here is very intelligent and many of you appear to have a technical knowledge of music. I have none, and I never joined here before because while I love Ringo and Tokyo Incidents, I've never felt compelled to give them any sort of analysis; I just enjoy listening to the music.

However, with the release of this album I'm compelled to say something.

I know that there are a lot of people who hate Variety here, and honestly I'm not a huge fan of it either. However, there's some songs on it that I love, and others that I absolutely cannot tolerate listening to.

However, I much prefer that feeling of love/hate over the feeling of apathy that washes over me while listening to Dai-hakken. Almost every song on this album lacks character, lacks the spark that makes you want to put it on repeat and close your eyes and close out the world. With the exception of "Where's Heaven" and "Jeux Inderdits", I feel like I could get through the rest of my life just fine without listening to this album again.

I can't help but get the feeling that as a band, Tokyo Incidents has run out of new ideas. I'm left yearning more for a new solo Ringo album than a new Tokyo Incidents album. Have they plateaued already?

(And as an aside, I found Ringo's vocals on this album to be pretty dull as well. I wonder if she was as bored as some of the listeners.)

[Lock]

Totally agree with karateexplosion and brad-t. Totally.

[kuro_neko]

they definitely played it safe with this album. Then again the band admits they wrote so many songs for Sports that it was inevitable the next album would be Sports left-overs. With the fan's criticism of Sports, it doesn't surprise me that they chose this group of songs. Ringo and the boys clearly listen to their fans, heck, that is why we got a 4th solo album, so this is a perfect case of you asked for it, kind of ringo's way of making us all lie in our beds so to speak.

that being said I don't find it as exciting as Sports, bizarre as Variety, cool as Adult, or jarring as Kyouiku, but it has tepid elements of all 4 that do work well. It just lacks that polarizing factor, its a bit too watered down in scope. Even the epic track (for the Disc) isn't quite weird enough when compared to Ikiru and even certain tracks off Variety.

much like most of Ringo's recent work I find myself enjoying it when it's on, but hard pressed to seek it out on my player.

with this out of the way, I'm more excited to see what YUKI does with megaphonic later this summer.