[TJ] 2010.02.24 - Sports (CD) [Album]

[TakeCake]

Yes! Finally, I've been listening to the new album! I like it.

I'm a binge-listener (I listen to things about 10,000 times until I get bored and move on to binge on the next songs I encounter) and am trying to break the habit, but already I'm listening to "Season Sayonara" "Sweet Spot", "Kachiikusa", "Noudouteki Sanpunkan", "FAIR" and "Zettai zetsumei" over and over again. I'm a sucker for jazzy chords, so I love pretty much every song featuring them and was glad to hear some in this album. But aw, I feel bad for "Sweet Spot". I think it's pretty sweet and almost sensual in a way. Yum!

My least favourite is actually Ikiru. I don't know, there's just nothing I like about it. I love barbershop quartets and whatnot, but this just sounds like noise I don't want to hear, on account of the way Ringo's singing.

But yeah, I'm very pleased. Was dying for it to come out and do not feel disappointed in the least!!

[kuro_neko]

Originally Posted by Mr Sands

I'm just gonna break my silence by saying that Denpa Tuushin is an awesome, awesome song. I could listen to it over and over again.

In fact, I have been.

hell yeah, I can really see them pulling out a Togatta Teguchi/Denpa Tsuushin style medley the way they did Crawl into OSCA the last few tours. If there are any songs on SG that Ringo would pull out with the boys, I think Togatta Teguchi would be the most likely candidate. I'm just afraid if I listen to it too much I'm going to be sick of it but maaaannnn it is so catchy.

[Scribble R]

Crawl into OSCA? You mean Kabuki?

Sigma was segued into Crawl in Dynamite Out.

Anyhow, Togatta Teguchi - Denpa Tsuushin would indeed be ultra cool. I hope they don't miss out on that opportunity.

(I think TJ will also perform Roudousha and/or 0maru chiten kara...oh, that Tokai no Manners thingy Tomosaka Rie song)

[darkdisco]

Originally Posted by kuro_neko

Togatta Teguchi/Denpa Tsuushin style medley

This would be amazing.

The more I listen to Sports, the more I like it, although I still have yet to warm up to FAIR. The extra bit at the end of Ikiru seems tacked-on to me; I think I prefer where the original leak ended.

[ShadyNook]

Originally Posted by makenshiww

Do you guys think there gonna be any more PV's for this album?

Definitely. theres usually at least one new PV that is made exclusive for every album's pv compiliation.

[Orenji]

Originally Posted by darkdisco

This would be amazing.

The more I listen to Sports, the more I like it, although I still have yet to warm up to FAIR. The extra bit at the end of Ikiru seems tacked-on to me; I think I prefer where the original leak ended.

Seconded. It's very out of place, but well, it's that way to merge with Denpa Tsuushin so I won't complain. I'll say it again: I love this album . Even Utenkekkou, Kachiikusa and FAIR grew on me, so now I like every single track *_*.

[Scribble R]

Noudouteki Sanpunkan ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Placement in album works. It's a good song, but I don't quite understand why everyone in and outside EMF are making so much of a fuss over it. The one part that clicks with me is the Uki 'equaliiiizeeerrr' line which is quite groovy


Zettai Zetsumei ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
THIS is what I consider a fantastic pop song. I move involuntarily to this. We know that Izawa starts composing a song, then runs out of ideas (Sake to Geko, Gaman) -- so when you slip Shiina Ringo's songwriting into that gap, greatness ensues.

*Points to avatar*

FAIR ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆
Aha, we FINALLY get a full-blooded PETROLZ song instead of them trying to fool themselves that Uki is uber-versatile like Ringo (Even the Petrolz hand-me-downs lost something with TJ in the past). That said, this song is lackluster compared to the stuff he recorded for amber/EVE2009. The song just sorta dawdles about most of the way through, and by the time instrumental part rolls round and I begin to really like it...it's too late.

Noriki ★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
One-Song Izawa? Most throwaway song of the album, and it reminds me of that one track he did for Tomosaka Rie in that there's nothing at all to Noriki except that it sounds 'like Izawa'. This thing works best with Appa (See Genron and Gypsy).

Sweet Spot ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆
Ringo's a bit hit or miss with this type of vocals, but then she serves up a double whammy by also singing in English -- which forces us to unfavourably compare her singing to Mariah Carey's... Ringo's all warbly and nasal, and the cliche RnB lyrics don't help. But IF (See the upper case + bold) you get past that, it's great, with the second half (Where Ringo repeatedly hits our sweet spots) provide just enough of an edge to stop it from being run-of-the-mill pop RnB -- because I'm sure we have ALL heard a song like this on MTV. (That fourth star is slowly fading away...)

Senkou Shoujo ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆
Why did they put include this song? To continue some stupid tradition? Jarring, and the dryness of the song is even more apparent when following Sweet Spot.

Kimaru ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Uki definitely served up his Ichijiku no Hana successor here. The best Tokyo Jihen ending, surpassing Yume no Ato and Tegami for me. And you know what, maybe Ukizawa can't sing but, as with Ikiru, their dull vocals do lend a sort of 'out there' quality to the song, and serves as a nice contrast to Ringo's very sweet and 'succinct' vocals. I like the Norweigan Wood influence (Although NW is one of my least favourite Rubber Soul tracks)...and it must be said again: Ringo's singing is fucking perfect here. You go, Uki! Show your haters that they don't know what they're talking about!

Overall: ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

A step in the right direction, but it's kind of bittersweet 'cos they've been around for a while now. Also, will I be listening to this until TJ's next release? I don't think so (And still, I believe Ringo could be achieving more than this. All the interviews and stuff about evolving their sound and changing pop seems kind of...er... not apparent in the music. Does she NOT HEAR what WE HEAR in her old work? It's nothing about 'rocking out!' but I digress) But bring on the live performances....I don't think the potential of the music here ends on the album, especially as it's SR/TJ we're talking about.

[lazer85]

yeah gotta admit their making much bigger statements than the music can fit into and its not like I don't like it. At least its better than some of the stuff coldplay says...didn't they say stuff about redefining music and making the greatest album of all time a few records ago?

[kuro_neko]

Originally Posted by Orenji

Seconded. It's very out of place, but well, it's that way to merge with Denpa Tsuushin so I won't complain. I'll say it again: I love this album . Even Utenkekkou, Kachiikusa and FAIR grew on me, so now I like every single track *_*.

no way, you guys are just saying that cuz you've been listening to the leak (without the full Ikiru) for weeks now.

every single track on this album has grown on me. it has the cuteness and quirkiness of Variety without the humor, something about this album feels much more refined. the main problem I had with Variety was it felt a little too slapstick. I don't mind humor in music but its not something I stomach well with Ringo. My least favorite tracks on the album are probably Fair and Season Sayonara, but even those have grown on me. when I get some more time tmr I'll probably put up a track by track review since I've been sitting with it for a few days now.

[Osiris12345]

I'm glad that you finished your review, Scribble! It seems like your overall summary is fairly close to mine.

Ah, Tokyo Jihen. A band that started with so much promise has now become a band that's still "warming up". Now I'll admit that I wasn't too excited about this release because I had incredibly low expectations after the disappointment that was Variety. I stopped going to EMF for the most part and rarely, if ever, even participated in any of the discussions about this album. Well, since everyone seemed to be talking about it, I figured I should join in as well. I'm just a sheep like that sometimes. So I finally listened to the album and I know you're all curious to see what my first impressions are. Okay, maybe not but I'm going to tell you anyway.

1. Ikiru - If you guys didn't know that I instantly fall in love with harmony and background vocals, you know now. Auto-tuned or not, it does sound pretty cool. Well, except for the random remix style breaks in the vocals. That was a little distracting. I kept thinking there was something wrong with my player. Ringo's vocals could be better but at least she's singing with passion. I felt like the first two and a half minutes were a sign of good things to come. Well, I wasn't disappointed. The song went uptempo, the whole band joined in, and the outro was pretty nice. Not a bad starter.
Rating: 8/10
2. Denpa Tsuushin - The opening drums remind me of Powerpuff Girls. Don't ask me why. Then when the bass came in I felt like I was listening to music from some kind of platformer game. It's not a bad song but I certainly didn't fall in love with it. The band plays well in it but it's just not a strong track to me. I'm not particularly fond of the chorus. So I guess this is the band's "hyper track" of the album that they seem to feel is necessary for every release. Outro sucked big time. I could see any other Japanese band doing a song like this. Meh.
Rating: 6/10
3. Season Sayonara - I really like this song. It's breezy, relaxing, and has a great melody. I feel like I'm running through a warm summer day when I listen to it. The band's backing vocals really push this one over the edge for me too. They all sound great. Izawa's solo is nice too. This is a very well crafted pop song. Though, that being said, there is a melancholy feeling I get when I listen to this. I can't help but think of the many listeners of Tokyo Jihen who first listened to Phase 1 back in 2004. Was this the kind of music that they thought they would be in for? Probably not. This is so drastically different from anything on Kyoiku. While it's a nice-sounding change of scenary, it makes me wonder how things might have been different. But that shouldn't really factor into the score for this. Just my personal thoughts.
Rating: 8.5/10
4. Kachiikusa - I don't know what to feel worse about - this song sounding like it's a B-side from the Variety era or that Ringo is the one who actually wrote this. Probably both. This is pretty mediocre. Lyrics aren't good either. Fever and all that. I didn't hate this one when it was first leaked but it hasn't improved upon repeated listens. Not a good sign. For some reason, this track reminds me of the band trying to be The Rolling Stones and failing at it. Ugh. Ringo, you are so above this.
Rating: 5/10
5. FOUL - Describes this song pretty well. It's Service with none of the charm. Since this is a Tokyo Jihen album, we need at least one "Ringo being loud on a megaphone" song, right? I think the band just decided to make a bastard spawn of Service + Kabuki and just roll with it. Might be a grower but it hasn't yet. Well, let's leave off with some good. Izawa's solo isn't bad and it's... experimental? I guess that's something. Kind of.
Rating: 4.5/10
6. Utten Kekkou - Well, isn't this song bright and cheerful? I laughed when I first heard Uki's background vocals. If there is a PV to this song, it definitely needs a singing Uki head floating over some clouds or something. Not much bad to say about this one actually. I like the melody a lot and Uki's guitar parts are especially nice. I really like when the piano comes in after the intro. This is another pleasant track that works really well. It's got a lot of nice stuff going on. And it has a nice outro to top it all off. I like it.
Rating: 8/10
7. Noudouteki Sanpunkan - Great song. It's probably my favorite Tokyo Jihen single since Sounan. This one has a lot of repeat listens from me. It's got such a great groove going on. I can't even explain it. Uki rocks on this track too. I love it. It's damn catchy. It fits well into the context of the album too.
Rating: 9/10
8. Zettai Zetsumei - Another well-crafted pop song. But I expect no less from a Ringo and Izawa collaboration. It's very catchy and has the kind of beat you can really get into. The band is definitely really tight on this one. I like the melody. For some reason the song didn't leave a huge impression on me the first time I heard it but I definitely liked it more upon repeated listens. Another nice track.
Rating: 8/10
9. FAIR - The cool guitar intro faked me out on this one. I was expecting some funky Asai Kenichi shit (kinda silly in hindsight, I know), then the bass comes in - still good, Hata comes in with the drums and I'm liking it so far and eager to see what happens next. Then Izawa comes in on his organ and gives me a musical boner kill. Then the song gets all quiet when Ringo starts singing. What the hell? That's a pretty extreme change in dynamics there, guys. I felt like I just listened to a 25 second interlude between songs there. The song proceeds to bore me to tears for about a minute and a half after Ringo starts singing. Poor girl's stuck with the most uninteresting melody on the album and she's gotta somehow make it work. But there is nothing sonically interesting going on for most of the song. Uki has a decent guitar solo later on but I think my brain fell asleep by that point anyway. This song was dullsville embodied for me. Just thinking about it makes me sleepy.
Rating: 6.5/10
10. Norikki - Huh? Is FAIR over yet? Ooooh, this one sounds all spacey and neato! It's like Tokyo Jihen exploring another planet! Just listen to those sound effects in the first 30 seconds and tell me you don't get that mental image! Well, after the novelty of Tokyo Jihen IN SPAAAACE! wore off, I was left with a pretty lackluster piece of music. It is sadly uninspired. The only thing that could save this song is if the PV featured Tokyo Jihen in spacesuits exploring a distant world. And dancing in them during the chorus. I love how Uki's guitar solo is overdubbed so much that it sounds like video game music. That makes me happy. I also like how they go for a random acoustic interlude (seriously, what is with that?) and end the song in a different key to make it more DRAMATIC. You know, for a song that was less than 3 minutes long there certainly was a lot of stuff crammed into it. Would've been nice if they crammed something into FAIR. Grumble, grumble.
Rating: 7/10
11. Sweet Spot - This song is cheesier than Cheez-Its dipped in cheese. I'm sorry but I cannot get over the lyrics to this one. It's just so... not Tokyo Jihen or Ringo at all. When the song first started, I felt like I had just finished some kind of romantic drama starring the latest teen heartthrob and the credits were rolling. That being said, the song really does pick up a lot after the Uki solo so I can't say it's terrible. It ends on a nicer note than it began on, which is saying something. Still not enough to make me adore it though.
Rating: 7/10
12. Senkou Shoujo - Okay, seriously. What the hell is this doing on here? Did they really make a personal decision to push back entirely new material just so they could put THIS on the album? How could the other songs have fit less than this one? Why didn't they just make this album have 12 tracks if nothing fit? Why do all of their releases have to have odd-numbered tracks? Is it the symmetry thing? Is this track somehow symmetrical with the album's theme? Do they even do that anymore? Arrrrrgh, damn it all!!! Gonna have to calm down now. Take deep breaths, Osiris. Relax. Okay. What I'm going to have to do is rate this song based on how well in fits into the context of the album. Yeah, that's fair, right? But wait... if they're still doing the symmetry thing, maybe this one fits perfectly! Maybe this directly mirrors Denpa Tsuushin lyrically in a mindblowing fashion but I could never know that because I don't understand Japanese! Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck!!!! Or maybe the band's just lazy. Let's not kid ourselves here.
Rating: 3/10
13. Kimaru - Damn. This came out of left field. We have one hell of a closer here. It's beautiful actually. I think this is one of Phase 2's moments of glory right here. Easily the best closing track on a Phase 2 album and Tegami is a hard one to dethrone in my eyes. Great singing from Ringo here. This is amazing. Blew me away completely. And it's a glimmer of hope that there may be a future for this band after all. As the song slowly faded into nothingness, I was transported back to a time of Souretsu, of Ichijiku no Hana, of KSK. It captures what made Shiina Ringo great in the first place. This song has a soul, which is more than I can say for anything else on the album. Well done, guys.
Rating: 10/10

Overall: 7/10

The album was very average. It's definitely a step up from Variety but it's not in the same league as most of Ringo's other releases. Were it not for Kimaru and Noudouteki Sanpunkan, it would have definitely gotten a lower score from me. A lot of the songs in here were just awful and the Senkou Shoujo inclusion was ridiculous. It's a very inconsistent album that doesn't flow very well but the strong tracks do make up for that. This album was extremes for me. Everything was either good or terrible. It seems like Phase 2 is capable of producing some great songs but they just don't have the ability to produce great albums. Frustrating to say the least. I think by now I'd be lying to myself if I said that the band isn't holding Ringo back. They really are. It's a shame too. But what's Ringo going to do? It's pretty clear that the guys would not be nearly as successful without her (except for maybe Kameda) so they have to capitalize on her name to make it big. And she's let them play with her this long. She's probably pretty close to the guys now. Saying that the guys are limiting her creative potential and just ditching them would make her seem like kind of a bitch, not to mention how it would make her look publically. She's stuck in a tricky situation. Hard to know just what the outcome will be.

Anyway, I thought the album was okay. Not bad, not great.