|
YURA
YURA TEIKOKU
Sweet Spot
(Sony Music Associated Records)
With a rabid following inside Japan for over a decade, but
only recently known elsewhere, psychedelic pop warriors Yura
Yura Teikoku (roughly: “Swinging Kingdom”) look
to boost their profile with their first outing for Sony. Sweet
Spot sets an otherworldly tone right from the outset with
“2005 Sekai Ryoukou” and continues to stay in leftfield
for the duration, with sonic palettes ranging from off-kilter
indie-rock to minimal drum’n’bass to the gritty
scratchings of “Uchujin no Hikoshi.” Along the way,
there’s also time to tell the story of a hungry, lovelorn
octopus in “Taco Monogatari.” Frontman Shintaro
Sakamoto’s reedy, rasping vocals entrance while his versatile
guitar work conjures a diversity of moods. Perhaps not earth-shaking,
Sweet Spot is a creeper that ultimately lives up to its name.
DG
SEVEN DUB
Rock With Me
(Play)
Roots reggae may have gone into retirement in its native
Jamaica, but in in far-flung countries like France, the home
of Seven Dub, and Japan, the base of Play label, it continues
to thrive. On their third album, Seven Dub turn in 15 beguiling
tracks of fat drum’n’bass, lightened with touches
of jazz and R&B and filtered through a sophisticated European
lens. Paul St. Hilaire (a.k.a Tikiman) and Angelique Willkie
sing high and sweet, while Zakeya from Dominica and Jamaican
sing-jay legend Lone Ranger add the right amount of “ruff‘n’tuff.”
Angelique plays the seductress on the title track, while “Wake
Up” roasts America’s post-9/11 wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan. Japanese dub unit Little Tempo put “U and
Dem” through the FX remix blender, while Play label’s
own Quante Jubila give a contemporary spin to the Caribbean-sounding
“Untitled Tribute.” DG
BREAK–THROUGH
Breakthrough
(Ki/oon/Sony)
Hatching in 2000 as the “Tokyo Aoyama Mix Project,”
the extravagantly named DSK Invisible, Masaya Fantasista and
DJ Jin have finally managed to get their numerous friends
in the same place at the same time for this sprawling debut
album. While the album is overloaded with guest MC turns from
the likes of Rip Slyme, there will be few better homegrown
cuts released this year that join the dots between languid
jazzist grooves and loose-limbed underground hip-hop. Among
the most memorable performances over the sonic traces left
by the three mixmasters is that of Ovasoul and keyboardist
Mark de Clive-Lowe on the Prince-like “Finger Funk,”
R&B with the sex appeal traded in for additional squidgy
retro keyboards. David Hickey
RYAN ADAMS & THE CARDINALS
Cold Roses
(Lost Highway)
Strict song choice is key with artists who struggle to fill
long-playing CDs with quality material, but for a select few,
even a CDs’ 74 minutes isn’t enough—which results
in later “from the vaults” releases that trounce
other artists’ top work. Ryan Adams has fought hard to
get all his material released, last year’s stunning Love
Is Hell was originally two separate discs that got culled
into a much weaker single album. This time around, Cold Roses
sees him with an alt-country backing band who are set to turn
out three albums this year, the first being this melancholic,
desolate and reassuring double. The first half is dedicated
to Adams’ extraordinary ability to continually reinvent
the tale of a failing relationship. Disc two sees more influences
from the Byrds, Gram Parsons and Creedence Clearwater Revival
shining through, particularly on highlight “Let It Ride.”
David Poole
Would you like to comment on this article? Send a letter
to the editor at letters@metropolis.co.jp.
top
|
