2/27/11

Geizz - WE WAIT FOR SONG OF GEIZZ


here's a wonderful little EP by Geizz, a hardcore punk band that has a sound along the lines of Gastunk or Poison Arts. very good stuff.

that album art, by the way . . . goddamn. ♥


1. Go To Ruin
2. Song of Geizz
3. Wild Boys
4. Tormentor


ENJOY

2/23/11

河合その子 - DANCIN' IN THE LIGHT


Dancin' In The Light is one of my favorite albums by my favorite 80s idol, 河合その子 (Kawai Sonoko). she was part of a group of idol pop singers that focused on melancholy instead of joy and cutesy love (i love both styles). her voice is cute, but it expresses frustration and sadness (probably just over being lonely, or a boy not understanding her; i must stress that this is indeed still idol pop) instead of sheer giddiness.

my favorite track on this album is the opening, "Libra". it sounds like what the blooming of a rose (or some other equally luscious flower) would sound like. it's incredible. it kills me every time i hear it. my heart pounds faster every time the verses begin.
track number two ("生まれたままの風") is mind blowing. it's not obvious at first, but when the chorus begins you will have no doubt that this is a masterpiece. i can't get over how perfect that chorus is.

the whole album stays this good. it's one of my all time favorite idol albums, as well as an all time favorite album in general.


1. Libra
2. 生まれたままの風
3. Contrastのすきまで
4. Hillsideの星空
5. Marvy Lady
6. Crazy Thing
7. ふたりぶんの背景画
8. 海の足跡
9. 淡い紫のブライトライツ
10. Dancin’In The Light


ENJOY

2/21/11

ウニタ・ミニマ - THE EDGE OF THE WORLD


The Edge Of The World is a luscious piano and synth based album with "tribal beats" from ウニタ・ミニマ ("Unita Minama"). one of the cutest things i've encountered in a while. both of the members of the band sing, making for a delightful sound (the male vocalist sings in the way that many Nagomu musicians sang; squeaky, raspy, and very much like a child, while the female vocalist has that delicious moe-sound going that i love so very much). if you liked both Zelda and Uchoten then you'll probably like this.


1. シャツ
2. 場所
3. 走る
4. 空
5. 夜
6. パレード
7. 微笑む
8. 世界の縁


ENJOY

2/16/11

コシミハル - 父とピストル


as requested, i'm finally posting some コシミハル. this is her 1991 album, produced by the master himself, 細野晴臣. the combination of these two gods of experimental synth-pop is always exhilarating (they'd worked together many times before), but it's this particular album that gives me goosebumps. the textures and sounds used here are lush and, at the same time, very subtle. ミハル's singing is high-pitched, and operatic. i believe she's singing in german half of the time, but it's hard to tell.


1. クレプシドラ・サナトリウム
2. 正式な愛人
3. ジルとジャンヌの対話
4. 父とピストル
5. 妖精たちの森
6. ドンナ・マドンナ
7. サビーヌの孤獨
8. 水盤の縁のニンフ
9. 召使い
10. 心臓の上
11. リリカちゃん電話
12. おませな情事
13. マドンナ
14. ピコロモンドで待ってて!


ENJOY

2/8/11

G-Schmitt - ALTERNATIVE GARNET


Alternative Garnet was G-Schmitt's 1988 album that they put out under legendary post-punk label Wechselbalg Syndicate. this album (their second, after Sin, Secret, & Desire) is a masterpiece. it has a much more goth oriented feel than Sin, Secret & Desire (which was included in the previously posted Struggle To Survive (a compilation of their first album, plus Modern Gypsies, as well as some other tracks) with better production, as well.

i'm actually not too wild about the first tracks. they're good, yes, but they don't compare to the later tracks. track three is where things start to get really good. gentle synths and acoustic guitars, as well as oddly placed saxophones fill this track, but the most important part about this track is the penetrating rhythm guitar during the verses. the only thing that can compare to this is the beautiful descending riff during the chorus. so fucking catchy.

my next favorite track is track five, "Es". the almost hip-hop-esque mechanical hand-claps first turned me off, but once Syoko begins to sing (with her lusciously sultry voice) everything comes into place. for the most part this track stays low-key, low and murmuring. however, the beautiful tinkling synths (that remind me of the となりのトトロ soundtrack, actually) give an odd feel to the song.

my next favorite track is "Cathedral Junky". a really catchy piece, very sexy sounding. the best part about this is the mindblowing ascending vocal build-up in the chorus. that's one of my favorite things about Syoko's voice; the way it builds to a climax and blooms like a rose. there is no other vocalist in the post-punk or goth scene that can compare to her.


1. Balsam (樹木礼讃)
2. Future Daze
3. Coda [II] (The Ark)
4. Isis (The Darkness)
5. Es
6. Le Paradis
7. Cathedral Junky
8. Obsession Obscure
9. Icaros Descending [II]


ENJOY

2/7/11

Deathchurch - PARANOID DESTRUKTION / UNSILENT HATE ANTHEM


by request, here are two albums by my all time favorite raw black metal act Deathchurch.


UNSILENT HATE ANTHEM
the title track is probably my favorite for the simplistic violence of the bass and the vocals. the most interesting part of the song is where it slows down to just the guitar strumming, only to be overwhelmed yet again by the static and roaring instruments.

1. Unsilent Hate Anthem
2. Rebellions Black
3. Vomit Upon the Burning Heaven + Black Cum Suffocation

ENJOY





PARANOID DESTRUKTION
the first track on this album might be my favorite from them. the feedback and growling guitars, interspersed by the whine of feedback is absolutely thrilling. the drums on the third track are mind blowing. the you can most certainly hear their heavy punk influence on this one.

1. Total Destruktive Arising
2. Deathcrush
3. Terror Revelation

ENJOY









god, i feel so fucking kvlt + trve with these past couple of posts. i need some faggy synth-pop in here, STAT!

佐井好子 - 胎児の夢


胎児の夢 is an album by 佐井好子. 佐井好子 has been a favorite of mine for years, so i'm not sure why i haven't posted anything by her yet. as far as i'm concerned, this woman is the apex of 1960/70s jap folk/prog-rock. she's everything about the genre that i love, cranked up to 10. her voice is like silk gloves stroking my ear/dick (?). absolutely luscious delivery of every word that comes out of her mouth.
besides her incredible crooning, the music itself is also wondrous. the first track opens up with a somber piano (accompanied by . . . castanets? and bongo drums). after that, though, the piano is replaced by spanish guitar and yoshiko's masterful crooning. it sends shivers down my fucking spine. absolutely epic.
the second track is a much more humble piece. gentle guitar strumming accompanied by a harp and bells. the combination of the first two tracks gives you a good example of what's to come.

my favorite track on the album is easily 青いガラス玉. it's such a tragic track, but still as epic as any of the other songs on the album. everything about the track feels so brooding.


1. ヒターノ
2. アルハンブラの青い壜
3. ある晴れた夜
4. 波止場
5. 春の夢
6. 海の沈黙
7. 青いガラス玉
8. 遍路
9. 白昼夢
10. 胎児の夢


ENJOY

2/4/11

Manierisme - 過去と悲哀


some more raw black metal. this time by Manierisme. this is his 2010 album 過去と悲哀. for those that already know Manierisme, you'll know that his music has very little order or structure to it. the guitars sound like their melting and bending and falling apart as he plays them (jekyll does play all of the instruments). all of the music if very, very, very disjointed, which gives it an absolutely terrifying sound. it almost sounds like a noise album from time to time. if 井内賢吾 made black metal instead of neofolk then this is what it would sound like.

even though it's not depressive black metal, it does somewhat remind me of Silencer and other outsider dsbm like that.


1. 暗い現実
2. 過去と悲哀
3. マニエリスム
4. 頭の中の虫
5. 今は失われた場所
6. 歴代の信念
7. 永らかに眠り
8. 呪われた運命
9. 葬式
10. 存在しない思い出
11. 色褪せた写真
12. 最後の詩
13. 不幸の中終わる


ENJOY

Deathchurch - CRUSHING THE DREAMS OF BENEVOLENCE


Deathchurch are a raw black metal band that i can't get enough of. their sound is almost borderline hardcore punk (then again, most raw black metal is). really satisfying fuzzy blasts of sound and distortion.


1. Intro: Fuck You All - Raping The Holiness
2. Black Cum Suffocation
3. Ritual Of Bloodletting
4. I Am the Impure Pain


ENJOY

2/2/11

SODOM - 聖レクイエム



聖レクイエム seems to be a compilation of two eps by ソドム (sodomu, or just "sodom"). this is some reeeeeeeeeeeeeally incredible hardcore punk. this band has become a favorite of mine recently (after i discovered their album TV Murder {which i may be inclined to upload later on}). the production is really bad, but like a very large portion of japanese hardcore this was probably intentional.
the highlight of this album isn't actually a hardcore punk track; it's post-punk (surprise, surprise). after a somewhat fast-tempo rendition of Piano Sonata No. 14 in C♯ minor (simply titled 「ソナタ」), the drums take on a primal beat, and the guitar slows down. the vocalist's mumbling comes across like he's all alone in a huge empty factory. delightfully dreary.


1. ソドミズム
2. スペルマ爆弾
3. L.S.D
4. 自殺
5. パブリック
6. カンゴフ K
7. 夜姦菌狐
8. ソナタ
9. 聖レクイエム
10. Wild Fire
11. Neo Psychick
12. Night Burning
13. Dung
14. Chrome
15. Kid Napper
16. Frog
17. Construct
18. Pizz
19. A-Flat
20. Lust!
21. Mouse To Mouth
22. Vanish
23. Acoustic Birds
24. Rock Out
25. Terminal Point
26. Over Lap


ENJOY