Okay. Because I'm too lazy to actually write up a whole, detailed review for all the releases that I've missed so far, I'll sum them all up in one entry. I'm going to be away until July 9th, so bear with me until then.
1. D'espairs Ray -BRILLIANT (single)
I like it. The guitars, the keyboards, the cleaness, and the heaviness of it is very reminiscent of their Mirror album. It's catchy, and the chorus has me nodding and almost headbanging to the beat. Hizumi's voice is consistent, just like his voice in the songs in Mirror. Actually, this single is so similar to the songs in Mirror, it should just be stuck in the album as well.
Again, I like this single. It's good and not a letdown at all, However, there's not much experimentation in it, and I can't help but think that D'espairs Ray isn't as wild, heavy, and rocking as before.
Rating: :] (just because it's been forever since they've put a single out)
2. Plastic Tree -Alone Again, Wonderful World (single)
1. Alone Again, Wonderful World
2. Psychedelizm
3. Hajime no xxx
3. Alone Again, Wonderful World (instrumental)
4. Psychedelizm (instrumental)
The song that the single is named after is hardly extraordinary. I know Plastic Tree can do better than this. Sure, the song is catchy and Ryutarou's voice is more of a catch than a miss. The guitar is too harsh, and this is the kind of stuff these boys can do in their sleep.
Psychedelizm starts out heavy. Don't be fooled by the trap. Once Ryutarou starts singing, it's not as heavy as it really seems to be. However, I adore the beginning; the guitars and the drums work together so well. I just wish the song was a bit heavier.
The two instrumentals and Hajime no xxx are a bit hit/miss. Hajime no xxx is basically the title track looped in the background with the bandmembers talking to each other. If there's a joke involved, I don't get it. The first instrumental is the title track without the conversation. The second instrumental shows how Psychedelizm flows together.
Altogether, my rating is :/
Plastic Tree can do much better.
Baku hits second issue! Yeah!
So again I've had fun and haste in making this issue but I believe it has come out quite well (though a bit compressed in article space and similar). I had to hasten up with this issue, but the next issue will probably be widen up to 3 pages or more. So look forward to it. Right now enjoy Baku!
The boys have not just released a new single this month but they have also toured the world going from Europe all the way up to America. I am certain that some of the Baku readers have been a part of this tour. To support Ayabie and to honor their achievements in this month Baku featured them as a cover artist.
But two more bands made it to the cover. The J-rock stars Kagrra,, who will certainly mark the summer both in Europe and Japan, and the jazz-rockers from Sugar. Sugar turned out to be the discovery of the month and as such they are this month's featured artist in Baku.
This time Baku had even more music reviews that really took the most space out of the mag. But in the next issue I'll make sure there is enough space for everything so the whole magazine won't look as a frontal crash of various articles.
Single: chariots - 独 ☆☆☆
Album: Nightmare - Killer Show ☆☆☆☆
Single: born - [-tHiNk-] ☆☆☆
Single: since1889 - DIABOLOS ☆☆☆
Single: 彩冷える - ミカヅキノキセキ ☆☆☆
RELEASE OF THE MONTH
Single: Sugar - antlion ☆☆☆☆
OHP: Sugar
Visunavi profile
Sugar on Rockerica
Founded: 2005.
Label: Graveyard Records
Status: Indie
Vocal: LOKI; Guitar: SIZNA; Bass: 真悟 (Shingo); Drums: 篤人 (Atsuto)
D'espairsRay - BRILLIANT
Even tough D'espairsRay have said that there won't be a new PV, it looks like they have changed their minds. Partially...
BRILLIANT PV is actually the live footage of this songs performance used as a PV. Though not even half as spectacular as the song itself the PV is still decent and shows how brilliantly D'espairsRay perform and put their heart and soul into it.
I have also reviewed this PV whose review and a few screencaps can be seen here.
Hopefully the guys will make a flashy, hardcore PV for their upcoming single KAMIKAZE. D'espairsRay rarely do have PV's but all of them (except this one) and mindblowing. So I'm wondering which is your favorite D'espairsRay PV? Mine is definitely Garnet :) because the PV perfectly fits the song and shows the disturbing, true side of Visual kei.
Listen to the Top 5 songs of the month
(okay momentary not, because I have got limited bandwidth and I can't upload them all but I will try to upload them on summer one day when I go to my dad's place where there is unlimited bandwidth internet. Sorry)
1. Sugar - Blossom
2. Sugar - Danshou to kuroneko
3. Nightmare - Djainism Batsu
4. Nightmare - TrickSTAR
5. Since1889 - celtic
Get the rest of the Baku here! Just click on the images and view them in original size. You may notice that the images are a bit bigger, I've made them like that so you can read Baku easier. And as always I look forward to your comments, suggestions, feedback, ideas and similar. Enjoy this issue of Baku.
As from today up to 12.7.2008. I won't post anything on Rockerica because I have to learn and I really don't have time to spend here. But after the short hiatus I will post reviews and everything else from this two week period. Thank you for your understanding and support.
And while I'm here please wish me luck in my entry exams for medicine college. If I pass I'll celebrate it, of course, here on Rockerica. I'll make a huge party on this site and you all are invited to party with me.
Till next time! ジャーネー!
Asari.
Date released: 25.6.2008.
Track list
1.ミカヅキノキセキ (Mikadzuki no kiseki) [PV]
2.デジタルネバーランド (Digital Neverland)
3. ハレノヒ [Type B] (Hare no hi)
3. ひなげし [Type C] (Hanageshi)
Don't get me wrong, I do love the sweetness named Ayabie and their last two releases were honestly just a step away from perfection. But unfortunately I didn't like so much Mikadzuki no kiseki.
Mikadzuki no kiseki reminded me of some older Ayabie works due to it's dominate horns, guitars put in background and a parade like feel. It's charming and catchy nevertheless, but rather forgettable and average for Ayabie. Digital Neverland could be a bit over-the-top for some listeners because of the upbeat, 8-bit electro-pop sound that you're likely to hear on a colorful Harajuku Para-para party (I can even imagine Aoi's coreography for this). Really saharoze and darn catchy but the aloof verses and chorus simply don't make it crappy/crazy enough to make you get all freaky on it. SuG does this better, unfortunately.
The B-sides are somewhat better. Hare no hi is a clap-along, 80's dramatic anime ending kinda song but without the drama, more kind of a happy-jerky Ayabie kinda way. I'm glad to hear more of Yumehito's and Takehito's guitars in the front and Intetsu's bass lines are as perfect as always. Still the song is rather unexciting, though kinda cool.
Hanageshi is probably the best song on the whole single, basically being Ayabie going Kagrra, with Japanese festival like sound, semi-fast tempo, good guitarwork and Aoi's innovative singing that I really like.
Ayabie, as always, perpared a small package of sweetness, power and happiness in their Mikadzuki no Kiseki single, but unfortunately it isn't as strong nor exciting as the previous few single's were. Nevertheless if you count Ayabie as a favorite artist you'll probably count this single as a new one in your collection. Though honestly, we have heard much, much better from Ayabie.
Date released: 18.6.2008.
Track list
1. antlion
2. 麝香漂う中で (Jakou tadayou naka de)
3. 男娼と黒猫 (antlion version) (Danshou to kuroneko)
Sugar actually turned to this month's top music discovery to me. I was going through some of their singles to warm up for their first Unplugged style single (as they've stated).
With antlion Sugar definitely proves the unhindered versatility of Visual kei, being a Visual kei band whose style can be described as jazz-rock, even more jazzier than your average jazz-ska-punks Merry and Nagoya kei lords the studs. And the resemblance of the singer Loki's voice with those of Mako is pretty tight, though Loki's voice is a bit more vibrant.
antlion sounds like the kind of music you'd hear on a terrace of a hotel at the seaside on a summer night. The kind of slow-tempo, saxophone enriched (and you don't hear a sax everyday in Visual kei at least) balladesque songs where couples (mostly old folks) go dancing slowly, close to one another. Interestingly the song goes a bit upbeat at the middle delivering a nice bass and drum solo, giving even more an impression of a jazz combo playing. And have I mentioned how floating and light Loki's voice sounds?
Jakou tadayou naka de goes a bit faster, still glimmering with the unmistakable jazzy groove and feel, making you wanna close your eyes on the passages and start dreaming. Glamorous, profound, feather-light and stylish, yes that is how you could describe this, a bit faster than antlion, ballad with this retro sound provided by the electric organ and the saxophone (which dominates this single).
I was really happy to see Danshou to Kuroneko (Manwhore and the black cat) on this single because it's my favorite Sugar song right after Blossom. And the antlion version really brings the greatness of the original in a new form. The intro opens with a slow, emotional and gentle saxophone and piano company and then goes with a tango-like melody and beat giving the song an extra rock-rebel-flair to it. LOKI's voice simply floats over the whole song, exploding together in a great chorus (sounding even more vibrant than the original thanks to the extra punch from the saxophone). The guitar solo after always blows me away with it's ingenious, minimalistic, pizzicatto like play interchanging with the saxophone and later with Loki's whispering, you just have to love it.
antlion is a excellent single, can't deny that, though it's a kind of a single music elitists would listen, even your folks would listen and not complain about it (if you have music elitist parents like I do =) ). The mature, serious and overall well composed songs really sting out of the most of the Visual kei releases, showing that Visual kei knows no borders nor dogmas, allowing almost all sound ranges as long as it can be classified as some kind of rock. That is one of the reasons I love Visual kei, it can never get boring and each band is unique.
As for Sugar, their music will suit even the most elitist tastes, though don't expect some heavy and crazy riffage, explosive choruses and agression in antlion. The almost puristic jazz-rock style may seem boring to the listener oriented more on the wild side of Visual kei. Nevertheless if you like jazz, good compositions, variety in sounds and a more unplugged and Nagoya kei approach, you might not resist the charms and style this band has. A warm recommendation.
Oh my god.
That was the most stressful, yet exhilerating game I've watched in forever. The fact that the Netherlands lost, Croatia lost, and Portugal lost -the favorites of the cup this year -was sort of surprising. I still can't get over how Croatia lost; honestly, Turkey scored in the last second. Ugh
But my god, the Spanish goalkeeper is amazing, seeing as the game ended up in a stalemate 0-0 with Spain almost scoring a goal in the last minute but then failing to do so.
The penalty kicks were so suspenseful I couldn't even watch them and I had to step outside the room.
And the fact that the goalkeeper was the one person who kept Spain alive --that was [insert synonym for 'amazing].
Now, all Spain has to do is to beat Russia (whom they've already played with and beaten before) and Germany just has to win Turkey.
Then, in the final game, we can see which team is better. It'll be a very interesting match.
However, the game I wanted to see (but won't) was the Netherlands vs. Spain. That would have been a good game.
Something's not quite right with this PV...
Can you guess what it is?
Can't wait to see this PV in full.
Date released: 4.6.2008
Track list:
1. I/M
2. ESCARGOT
3. THE 「C」BLOOD MANIFEST
4. celtic
As I've said this month is a month that requires some deeper scratching under the surface to find some releases. And as it's with Visual kei, going under surface means finding obscure indies. One of them who had a release this month is the awkwardly named band since1889 (whatever that year means to them).
DIABOLOS is a fierce release of this obviously fierce band. Just listening to industrial-screech monster intro like I/M will remind you of the also industrial-fused intro End of Finale by UnsraW. It's some kind of a ritual for every Visual-hardcore band to have this some kind of techno-like intro.
The band bombs with growling/death-grunts (I like them especially on the first few moments of ESCAGORT), heavy distorted guitars and double bass attacks on all of the DIABOLOS while the singer Kouta changes his voice from bestial to singing on the somewhat mellow choruses. It's interesing how his growls are loud and firm, while his singing voice is really gentle, quite and mellow, thus not giving enough charge to the choruses.
THE 「C」BLOOD MANIFEST has got some less growl parts, but rather a sinister feel and a melodious chorus. The song directly attached to it is the best on the album: celtic. celtic may not sound as the name suggests, but it has got this buzzing, shivering guitar-riff that creats a mysterious feel before launching a full-frontal attack of metal madness that will make every metal fans heart beat faster. Even the choruses have more crunch to them than on the other songs with Kouta's voice sounding ethreal, streching and shrinking building up a light mood to this heavy song. I like the silence-loudness attacks right after the first chorus.
DIABOLOS is just a kind of a single everybody should have in their music collection, not because it's outstanding or something, but because everybody gets the impulse for vicious growling and bashing once in a while. since1889 deliver a balanced fury package not sounding to extreme like Dir en grey, but yet with more breathing-space than UnsraW (and with a better vocalist up to the top, though I like Yuki's growls). Fans of the both bands will surely like the metalcore influenced since1889. Not outstanding, but not bad either.
In late April, Patapete recommended the Radwimps to me after I tired out my measly library of songs. I checked them out on youtube first, and I was in for a very welcome surprise.
Their style -though Patapete might be able to describe it in better words -is very varied. My favorite songs by them, though, are like a hybrid between something the Red Hot Chili Peppers would sing and something Plastic Tree would croon.
So basically, I like to think of them as a wayward, rebellious child of the two, which sounds silly but captures (in my point of view) their current sound.
The first PV I watched of them was "Order Made", a new song/PV released this January. The maturity of the song and the simplicity in which it is sung, along with the clever (if not ingenious) PV which actually has something to do with the song unlike some other bands, made me smile. The songwriting just flows, and the bandmembers are only in their early twenties! They're a very solid, mature band, and I like that, because usually, bands with members this age just start and then fizzle out and then their early songs are atrocious to listen to. See what SuG's been cranking out, along with some of the more mediocre GazettE songs. I'm sorry, GazettE fangirls, because although I respect the GazettE, some of their songs have been poorly written. What Miyavi is doing at this point annoys me as well, so I may as well make myself a target of the more rabid fans, but what's true is true.
And so here is the video (subbed, because the lyrics are so pretty):
They also have other songs in different styles as well. My personal favorites are "me me she" -which is mellow and reminds me of Plastic Tree, "Setsunarensa" -which is a tad psychedelic and is quite addicting, "iyan" -which is probably what my friends like -it's more alternative/punky stuff, and lastly, "Yuushinron" -the PV for this reminds me of how Plastic Tree did their PV for "Alone Again, Wonderful World".
Here are the PVs:
:
sadly there's no video for 'iyan'
So again, I thank Patapete for telling me about this band; they're very calming to listen to. I'll be waiting to here more about them as well, because they are definitely worth keeping up with.
Date released: 11.06.2008.
Track list
1. [ ]
2. [-tHiNk-]
[-tHiNk-] is the second demo-single by the young Visual kei band born. This single made me think about whether to consider it as a sign of a existing potential of this band or as just another average Visual kei release.
[-tHiNk-] has got this screaming, buzzing guitars running through the whole song, giving off a slight industrial feel like D'espairsRay's song PIG. The thick bass and dynamic drumming, with a lot of bass attacks speed up the song giving a extra punch and energy into it. It's not so often to hear such a power attack from a indie or demo band, so this energy is kinda plus for born. The chorus have got this singing in higher register, almost falsetto like that I really don't understand why so many singers torture themselves with such a high pitch, but luckly it's interchanged with the singer's Ryouga's normal voice higth and a young sounding timbre. What I like about the chorus is the distorted smashing of one guitar, while the other playes a simple, pulsing melody in clean, set into the background. It's like Karyu's playing in D'espairsRay, though less ingenious. Technical aspects aside, the song does have this underground feel to it, with early D'espairsRay and 2000-2003. Dir en grey flashbacks, making this song even more appealing.
born has got good influences and they do know how to use this influences in their songs, but they still have to work on their originality. Overall, without me making some philosphy about it, I kinda liked the single, not exactly something I'd listen to all the time, but once in a while it might be intereseting. If you're a fan of bands with a industrial and dark touch like D'espairsRay you'd probably like this single yet knowing that there are better songs.
Keep working hard guys, it'll pay out one day.
And they've said that there will be no PV. AHA! YOU LYING BITCHES!!!!!
But then again this isn't a actual PV, just the live performance of Brilliant from one of their recent lives mixed up with the CD version of Brilliant. LAZY BITCHEZZZZZZ!!!! In their almost ten years of existence they've released like what 6 PV's but each was a true little masterpiece for itself so this 5-minute edit feels as made just sio that the guys would get some screentime on TV. And I already had imagined the PV to be all flashy, like trickstar but with some broken glass, lotsa light effects and our boys looking as fierce as ever...
Oh well....
To the not so brillant PV for Brilliant.
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