Featured Review #38: I'm NOT a pirolian by そこに鳴る (sokoninaru)

[fitear1590 2414]

Artist: そこに鳴る (sokoninaru) EP: I'm NOT a pirolian 1. pirorhythm stabilizer 〜only your world〜 2. 夏の落とし物 (natsu no otoshimono) 3. ARAGAE!! 4. 真実の花 (shinjitsu no hana) 5. さらば浮世写し絵の如く(do-do gigantic evolution ver) (saraba ukiyo utsushie no gotoku)

Rating: | pirolian status: unconfirmed

 

From the initial posting of sokoninaru’s “pirorhythm stabilizer 〜only your world〜” PV in the news thread, this band’s debut release has caused quite a stir. Some (including me!) were immediately taken by the band’s in-your-face instrumentation, while others were less convinced: despite the apparent guitar frill, the core songwriting was written off as too poppy or the band was deemed a ling tosite sigure wannabe. Now that their first EP I’m NOT a pirolian has had some time to settle, it’s time to hash out my opinion. Right off the bat, the band demands your attention. The EP opens with a frenetic, prickly guitar and bass solo loop that goes on for about 10 seconds before the drums crash in and the song really kicks off. In fact, drums are what help to propel this track. A variety of creative fills and production quirks emphasize the percussion and keep listeners on their toes, rhythmically. Meanwhile, guitarist Suzuki and bassist Misaki play their hearts out. There’s no doubt that this trio has some impressive musical chops, but somehow, the complete song doesn’t quite gel. The chorus is a bit of a letdown and at times, the band doesn’t link together the different parts of the song in convincing ways. For instance, the ending is an abrupt mess.

Fortunately, the band really buckles down on “夏の落とし物 (natsu no otoshimono),” my personal favorite from the EP (check out the mp3 sample below!) and one of my favorite songs of the year so far! This track exhibits the tightest composition on the release and a beautiful chorus. The quickly strummed, scratchy riffs remind me of one of my disbanded j-indie faves, caroline rocks. Throughout the track, soothing background vocals by Misaki help to balance the nasal, yet raspy vocals by Suzuki. Ending with a bang, Suzuki rips out a heart-wrenching guitar solo with such a satisfying tone. “ARAGAE!!” continues the momentum, borrowing the experimental tendencies from “pirorhythm stabilizer 〜only your world〜”and combining them with the heart and more focused composition of “natsu no otoshimono.” It is pretty dynamic, moving between zippy barrages of guitar work and more tranquil interludes. Again, spectacular drumming and Misaki’s background vocals add further dimension to the song. Back in April, I had a hard time deciding between this and “natsu no otoshimono” for our Best New Tracks list!

“真実の花 (shinjitsu no hana)” is where the band loses me for a bit. The opening bass lick is very clearly copied from the lead guitar riff in American post-hardcore group The Fall of Troy’s “F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X”. I would be flabbergasted if sokoninaru claimed they had never listened to them before. Plagiarism aside, the remainder of track has some redeemable moments, including yet another kickass, hi-octane guitar solo from Suzuki—he’s got a knack for these! The EP ends with a rerecording of one of their demo tracks “さらば浮世写し絵の如く (saraba ukiyo utsushie no gotoku).” This finale continues the kind of mid-tempo energetic indie rock heard in the previous track, but what stands out is Misaki's most pronounced vocal presence yet. She takes over lead vocals during certain parts of the song and provides some stunning harmonies once Suzuki jumps back in.

So what’s the verdict on I’m NOT a pirolian? Sokoninaru has some major potential and they really hit their stride on tracks 2 and 3. Considering “pirorhythm stabilizer 〜only your world〜” is the PV (i.e. marketing) track, I wonder if there was pressure from their label to project a sound that they don’t fully embody, namely that of being some tryhard ling tosite sigure-inspired band. Other than that first track, I don’t find the comparison that valid, especially vocally speaking. Whereas some bands (looking at you, HaKU) ape LTS right down to TK’s vocal style, Suzuki and Misaki have their own thing going on here and it works!  Despite the half star deduction for the lack of originality in “shinjitsu no hana,” I’m still very much looking forward to what this band has in store for us next. All three members show plenty of musical promise. I believe they have more in them than just being “a poor man’s ling tosite sigure,” to quote @CAT5. Moreover, I just need to figure out whether I’m a pirolian or NOT! Hopefully, we'll all have the chance to find out on their next release!

What did you think of the EP?

 

Support the band!

CDJapan

HMV

YesAsia

[doombox 4421]

I chose "NOT" because if this is what not a pirolian sounds like, sign me up!

 

I'm not the biggest sigure fan so I can't say whether these guys are a "poor man's" version. But I find the vocals much easier on the ears with soko. X"D And idk if I'd go so far as to claim plagiarism, but the riffs are extremely similar for a bar there, definitely. So I get what you're saying. And you really got an ear for finding these band similarities! I'm still in awe of the Heartless and the LOTUS mention from BNT. lol

 

Nice review, agree with the rating, and can't wait to hear more from this band!

[enyx 903]

While I'm very much in the camp that found this release to be underwhelming as a result of its generic songwriting, I'd nevertheless like to distance myself from the "Sigure-clone" comments. Sigure does have a very identifiable style, and I'll concede that it is just human nature to make comparisons when something comes along that takes a lot of cues from something already notable and established, but I nevertheless think that it's somewhat asinine to write off every band that bears some similarities to Sigure purely for that fact. Sigure doesn't have a monopoly on the "three-piece, male&female vocalist, and aggressive instrumentals" sound, nor does TK have a monopoly on high pitched male vocals. For that reason I'd also like to refute the 'Sigure-clone' tag that has been tagged onto HaKU too (I mean seriously, their recent music in particular doesn't even sound anything like Ling). We might as well call every band with two guitarists, a bassist, and a drummer "Beatles clones", or go back to the days when every video game with first-person shooting mechanics was labelled a "Doom clone" if we're going by that logic.

 

Anyway, rant aside, none of that changes the fact that the band itself feels like it's lacking something in the songwriting department in my opinion. There's clearly some potential there, but right now it's just potential and nothing else. This band reminds me of groups like きのこ帝国, tricot and fox capture plan in the sense that they all have the right components to make for a good band, but their songwriting just seems to consist of formulaic structures that hold it all back. This being their first release I'm not going to write them off entirely, but I'd really like to see them push the envelope more on subsequent releases or they're going to drop off my radar pretty quickly.

[Zeus 7997]

Imitation has always been the greatest form of flattery. I do hear a lot of similarities to Ling Toshite Sigure, but I find the latter band to be so "out there" that you couldn't reach them if you tried to bite off them 100%. I don't think Sokoninaru are doing that, but I agree with Pho in that they should push the envelope more on the next releases. The sample started out with a bang and got me really interested but two minutes into it I already found myself not listening to it. I don't know what they're missing but they need to figure it out fast.

So my pirolian status is unconfirmed I guess.

[beni 2149]

Giving it a listen as I type. Am on track four and I'm struggling seeing how they're immitating Ling at this moment. It's not as in your face as I was expecting which is pretty disappointing. I can see how the male and female vocals can be quite reminiscent to Ling and even the loud instruments. Amazing type up, but not an amazing release. Quite disappointing apart from a couple of sections such as opener 'pirorhythm stabilizer ~ only your world ~,' and closer, 'さらば浮世写し絵の如く (do - do gigantic evolution ver).' Totally agreeing on everything @Pho has said. Will keep an eye on them either way to see if they can make the melodies I'm hoping for.

[violetchain 912]

Sigure doesn't have a monopoly on the "three-piece, male&female vocalist, and aggressive instrumentals" sound, nor does TK have a monopoly on high pitched male vocals. For that reason I'd also like to refute the 'Sigure-clone' tag that has been tagged onto HaKU too (I mean seriously, their recent music in particular doesn't even sound anything like Ling).

Yes, I thought the same thing when I read the part about HaKU.

[CAT5 9075]

YES, I'M A HATER

 

 

I had to change my vote from "dafuq is a pirolian?" because I now know what a pirolian is and why this band is NOT one. A pirolean is the exact opposite of an excessively fail ling try-hard.

Anyone willing to dispute the ling comparisons is probably deaf, and blind...and should probably be mute.

Srsly tho, in addition to the exact same setup (and employment of that setup), titles like "pirorhythm stabilizer" and "I'm NOT a pirolian" that scream "TK coined this", the band themselves practically admit to being influenced by ling in an interview.

But the fact that they're influenced by ling isn't the issue (there are some 9mm Parabellum Bullet influences at play here too btw). I think that ling are an excellent band to seek inspiration from. My problem is that sokoninaru has built their sound from a blueprint that was not designed around their strengths, instead borrowing ideas from that blueprint and using them to build around their own strengths.

One of my biggest complaints about this band is that both vocalists sound completely flat and apathetic. The male vocalist even attempted to escalate into a TK-ish wail/scream on a track or 2 and it sounded pretty pathetic. People can hate on TK's voice all day, but it's always been emotive, passionate, and fitting of the music that ling plays. The music itself isn't that bad, but it also feels like forcefully spliced together ling/9mm frill, with really unconvincing songwriting inbetween.

I changed my vote to "uncomfirmed" because as hard as I've been on this band, they're obviously talented and improvement CAN happen. It happened with chouchou merged syrups - their first mini album sounded like boring cinema staff cover album, and they came back stronger than ever. There are some cool, albeit brief, moments on this album, but overall it doesn't gel at all. Hopefully this is just the case of the band still needing to find their sound and come into their own.

[beni 2149]

YES, I'M A HATER

 

 

I had to change my vote from "dafuq is a pirolian?" because I now know what a pirolian is and why this band is NOT one. A pirolean is the exact opposite of an excessively fail ling try-hard.

Anyone willing to dispute the ling comparisons is probably deaf, and blind...and should probably be mute.

Srsly tho, in addition to the exact same setup (and employment of that setup), titles like "pirorhythm stabilizer" and "I'm NOT a pirolian" that scream "TK coined this", the band themselves practically admit to being influenced by ling in an interview.

But the fact that they're influenced by ling isn't the issue (there are some 9mm Parabellum Bullet influences at play here too btw). I think that ling are an excellent band to seek inspiration from. My problem is that sokoninaru has built their sound from a blueprint that was not designed around their strengths, instead borrowing ideas from that blueprint and using them to build around their own strengths.

One of my biggest complaints about this band is that both vocalists sound completely flat and apathetic. The male vocalist even attempted to escalate into a TK-ish wail/scream on a track or 2 and it sounded pretty pathetic. People can hate on TK's voice all day, but it's always been emotive, passionate, and fitting of the music that ling plays. The music itself isn't that bad, but it also feels like forcefully spliced together ling/9mm frill, with really unconvincing songwriting inbetween.

I changed my vote to "uncomfirmed" because as hard as I've been on this band, they're obviously talented and improvement CAN happen. It happened with chouchou merged syrups - their first mini album sounded like boring cinema staff cover album, and they came back stronger than ever. There are some cool, albeit brief, moments on this album, but overall it doesn't gel at all. Hopefully this is just the case of the band still needing to find their sound and come into their own.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3HhjH7RXTI

[fitear1590 2414]

Thanks for the comments, everyone!

It seems ender and I are enjoying this the most, haha. Well, let's just hope their next release is a better showcase of the band's style.

@: Thanks! It drives me nuts when I recognize a similarity between two songs, but can't recall the original one...
@@Pho: You'll have to cut me a little slack on the HaKU reference. I stopped listening to them after their Simulated Reality, so I'm admittedly out of touch with them. But to be fair, my review was written before the YouTube song you linked to was even released, haha.
@@CAT5: Valid observation on the ling-esque titles... I'm still not sold on chouchou merged syrups though, so I'm hoping for even bigger improvement from this band

[doombox 4421]

LOL that bothers me too. It makes me so angry my brain can tell me something is familiar but not why it's familiar. OTL

 

I guess since I don't have strong feelings for some of the other bands mentioned it's a lot easier for me to enjoy this band.