The long overdue Seiko Oomori thread

[FadedSun]

Originally Posted by kalmia

I still don't get Sennou at all. I'd have people start at ZS instead. MG if they enjoyed that.

What don't you "get"? Do you think there's something you need to be looking for in that album?

I guess we're all different. I think ZS is her worst album, but has some of her better songs. There's a song on ZS that has this circus-y sound to it, and every time it comes on I always think "UGH, why is this here?!" It ruins the whole flow of the album up to that point for me. Sennou, to me, is probably her most cohesive album. I've listened to more times than any of her other albums because it flows so well from song to song.

[deadgrandma]

When I think about it seriously, Mahou Ga is still the best thing she's released. Right now I like it just as much as any Ringo (but not quite as much as some Togawa) releases. That's the monumental kind of release we're dealing with.

Sennou for me is absolutely great, but it doesn't hit me on that personal level that Mahou Ga does. It's like her Hail to the Thief- a great album in the catalog but not many would call it their favorite (but nothing wrong with it if you do) further along the line... (Also on a shallow note, it's brought out a bunch of annoying noob fans who only like idol music/just can't handle the older stuff. Def not legit Oomorites :-p)

Nothing wrong with ZS, it's a beast. Has Over the Party on it. Can't wait to hear whether new Pink Tokarev version is better or not. Also will be fun to compare Lai Lai Lai Team vs Tokarev collabs too.

What is the most interesting about future new Oomori releases is that there are pretty much no songs that she's had since pre-debut left to use. A lot of songs on Mahou Ga, ZS and Sennou (to a slightly lesser extent) have appeared on early demos or lives. I was shown a version of Nostalgic Jpop that dates back to 2008 for example. That means that from now on, 90% of the new tracks will be fully new. It will also be interesting to see if she continues to go in the idol sound or not. There's only a certain age you can do that up to without sounding pathetic- and even Oomori is not immune to this sad fact.

But she's smart and has played her cards near perfectly up until now. At this point, I have no fears.

[Tokyo Jihad]

Lets talk about Sennou and why it seems to miss with the hay-maker for a lot of people.

Sennou landed with a thud for me too which was really disappointing given that the start of the album was so promising. Oomori changes up her sound, refines the edges, sparkles with the production. The album doesn't miss in those first 5-6 tracks. And then the back-half of the record drops the ball.

She goes to a more familiar sound with Noroi wa Mizuiro and it just doesn't impact. Its perfectly fine to let up the gas, at some point there should have been a tonal shift on the record, but this track tries to be weightless and though I do like the distorted violin framing the track, it feels so inconsequential.

She follows that with Rock n Roll Paradise which also does nothing for me. It toes this line between being bouncy and breezy and succeeds at neither. Even the next track is a waste of time. Blissfully, Watashi wa omoshiroi zettai omoshiroi tabun caps off an epically momentum killing sequence on this record as Kiss Kill me clears the air with a really good song. The album picks itself up a bit towards the end, with the exception of Yankiku date. But by that point, the steam is dissipated. Though the album dusts itself off at the end, and still has that killer start, the overall feeling is just kind of eh.

Somehow at 13 tracks it still feels a bit long. I know I previously complained that it didn't feature any "Oomori moments" where she really lets loose. Really, thats fine, but I think why thats so noticeable is that most of the songs seem to come from the same emotional/mental/sonic state and it even makes the good songs blend to the background.

Its hard to really say why this album doesn't really add up. Mahou ga and Zettai Shoujo also meandered in their second halves and were a bit monochromatic as well. Yet I'd say both resonate more. Not that Sennou is a mis-step. Oomori really needed to progress her sound after Zettai Shoujo should have been re-titled Mahou 2: "plus two new songs and a sax solo!" I think she made the right choices, but maybe didn't give enough different angles track-to-track.

What do you guys think?

[deadgrandma]

I'm going to answer this as non-stanny/fanboy as possible, but I can't make any promises :-p

Lets get something straight- it doesn't miss with a lot of of people- its easily her most popular album, and has created a much larger fanbase- (I mean, for a small idea just look at that last.fm listeners chart- after the dust has settled and it's been out a while, there's still DOUBLE the amount of listeners than before the album came out). The only minor complaints I've heard are from long-term fans and those are far and few. Myself included. TL;DR: I hear a LOT more criticisms about Mahou Ga and ZS than I do Sennou. And that's fine, compared to Sennou, they're far less accessible.

Sure, it's not Mahou Ga. It was never meant to be. However, I didn't for one second think that the second half is weaker than the first- this was not an issue that affected me personally, it's not even something I've ever considered/noticed. The best songs are left for last, and its an easy listen from start to finish. I agree that her albums can be too long at first- its something that becomes no longer an issue if you listen to them enough- on both Mahou and ZS the 'crawl' part is now my favourite, but not on Sennou- this was just a fun ride from start to finish. It's not deep give or take a couple tracks, and it works pretty damn well. Still more worthwhile than any other jpop last year.

In a nutshell:
I understand and agree with you that Sennou for us older fans doesn't quite hit the mark that MG or ZS does (but its damn close for me)- however, not for the reasons that you gave (I just like the more raw sound of the first 2). I have no problem with the flow here. Nor do I think that it's a majority of people that think this way (it's definitely us that are the minority this time), a huge amount of Oomori fans out there absolutely adore Sennou (and many, many of them champion it above the first 2 album) it seems. Each to their own- they still are getting kicks out of Oomori and that's what matter the most (but they're wrong- Mahou Ga is the best :-p).

But ah, a little bit of real discussion for a change. Feels like the old days of my membership here, except with only a couple of people left :-p

Oh and I can't believe you think Noroi wa Mizuiro is a waste of time. Best song on there!

[FadedSun]

I think I need to revisit Zettai to gain a fresh perspective...One of the only reasons I listened to Sennou so much was that my ipod died, and Sennou was one of the few albums on my phone, so I was listening to it practically every day. Grew on me a lot during that time.

[deadgrandma]

Wonderful World's End DVD out same day as Tokarev album.

Not sure whether to wait it out in hope of a subtitled DVD/Blu Ray or not.

I will buy if this comes with some unreleased Oomori tracks or something though.

EDIT
Also, for anyone interested Japan Times called her the most likeable Jpop act/album in 2014 (Boris being the most likeable hard rock). It also makes me wanna check out the other stuff I missed on here- the Takako Minekawa/Dustin Wong album sounds goddamn delightful!

[kalmia]

There are definitely some great tracks on Sennou, but the album lacks everything that I enjoyed from Seiko's first two albums. I guess none of the songs are awful, but a lot of them come too close to straight idol music for my personal tastes. I understand that this album is her personal take on idol music but the instrumentation that I would usually love seems to only magnify the vocal melodies that just rub me the wrong way.

Listening to this album makes me feel like I've eaten too much sugar and don't know what to do with myself. One of the things I really like about Zettai Shoujo is that it knew when to be mellow and when to intensify. Even the slower, classis Oomori tracks of Sennou, feel drainedof enthusiasm. I'm not sure if Avex is to blame or the idol influence. I do really like a handful of the tracks... but even Date wo Yameyou, which should have been awesome, was a bit lackluster.

When it comes to Mahou Ga and Zettai Shoujo, almost all of the songs were ballads led by acoustic guitar. This made each little supporting instrument stand out and be meaningful. Sennou went in a completely different direction entirely with most of it's songs. I wouldn't be surprised if the ones I really like were on the early demos along the likes of Mahou Ga favorites. I don't hate this release... I just can't listen to the whole thing through like I could her other stuff. I prefer the raw emotional stuff over the sugary electronic, hectic stuff.

Originally Posted by deadgrandma

Still more worthwhile than any other jpop last year.

You say stuff like that like it's not just your opinion.

[deadgrandma]

^Looking round at reviews for Sennou online, it's not just my opinion ;-)

Anyway:
Hmm, if the idol sound is what turns you off the most here- you'll probably like the upcoming Pink Tokarev album more.

I suppose, in a way, it's a blessing to have a rock band side project in this scenario for those that are turned off by the idol direction. And for those who have seen them live/viewed their DVDs- what a rock band. If the studio manages to capture their essence properly, this will most likely be totally awesome. Then again, there's always the possibility of having the Jihen curse :-p

Checking daily for any kind of preview :-p

[hoopra]

i actually liked the second half better besides the acoustic song when i first started listening to sennou but now i enjoy the first half more, imitation girl is my favorite track right now off of it, and rocknroll paradise is awesome, i think it has her signature singing style from mahou, how she stetches the last syllable in the bar

[kalmia]

Yeah, I'm actually looking forward to the PT album. I was even gonna end my last post saying that.