togz

I never intended for the thread I split off to be turned into an example against anyone, but as long as it is I may as well make it a good one. I want @Kawaii_Minpha to walk away from this understanding that lying on the internet is bad and everything is saved somewhere. Nothing is ever truly deleted from the internet and you cannot start over when you make a mistake. I try not to let my opinions be known, but this topic is an eyesore. The initial impressions given off about Japan and the visual kei culture sound like fanciful dreams of anime land, are misleading, and fills impressionable people with these ideas that will never happen in reality (and will only lead to disappointment later). Zero percent of it was based in reality and I know we can all see that. The entire exchange devolved into a mess very quickly and thankfully she rage quit before it got any worse. I thank the people that came here to initially try to correct her because I did not have the energy to, but turning this into a witch hunt and trying to embarrass her after the fact is bullying and I won't have it. Party is over.
 
 

So the truth behind kawaii minpha saying tanuki is a LIE is because they tried to 1-time mitsu someone and failed at it? It all makes sense now

Naw dude. The paying of sex is real in VK but like... in other genres too. IDK. I've had two friends local of the music scene in Japan look at me so surprised when I mention VK. They figured I was so innocent and didn't know and felt like they were telling me a huge secret and didn't want to let me down that it's a normal thing. One of them even said he chose not to do VK because he didn't want to be associated with it for that sole reason. 
 
Sure maybe not every dude... but enough for it to be a big part of the culture of it all. 
 
I'm not even a good-lookin gal but I almost got myself mixed up with un-nammed band member but I dipped the second it was even offered cuz HECK NO I'M NO TOOL FOOL. 
 
anyguayz. ISN'T THERE ANOTHER THREAD FOR THIS THO. 

Naw dude. The paying of sex is real in VK but like... in other genres too. IDK. I've had two friends local of the music scene in Japan look at me so surprised when I mention VK. They figured I was so innocent and didn't know and felt like they were telling me a huge secret and didn't want to let me down that it's a normal thing. One of them even said he chose not to do VK because he didn't want to be associated with it for that sole reason. 
 
Sure maybe not every dude... but enough for it to be a big part of the culture of it all. 
 
I'm not even a good-lookin gal but I almost got myself mixed up with un-nammed band member but I dipped the second it was even offered cuz HECK NO I'M NO TOOL FOOL. 
 
anyguayz. ISN'T THERE ANOTHER THREAD FOR THIS THO. 

Hey 4 years is a long time. I've never been in a relationship that long but I would imagine it takes a lot of time to adjust and heal from that suddenly missing from your everyday life. Focus on you and what you want in life outside of a relationship and hopefully that will allow you to connect with people that positively gravitate towards you because you want similar things in life. 
 
at least that's how I like to wish things worked.

can this off-off-topic conversation about tanuki and mitsu be moved to another thread please? all of these have nothing to do with the current topic.

Maybe Hitsugi wants a turn at being the second rate Sugizo clone. 

Yesssssssssssss. Didn't think they'd make another MV!
 
Would love to see an MV for "What little love"

Glad to be part of this thread again!
Really glad to see TBS, Sioux (a great surprise for me), Mejibray, Develop one's faculties, Grimoire and Kaya!
I will surely try Siraph and Miztavla!

Haha I the guys thought they were sneaky lol

Went downtown for dinner and a Shonen Knife concert. We got asked about our Halloween costumes a lot. We dress like this year round. 
 

Today ~

Oh hi there!
 

Often I don't want to look like a woman!
 

Conventions are where I can dress in a way that I really feel like myself
 

haven't posted here in a while. have me looking stupid with snapchat filters:
 
 

because it's been a while since I posted here or something. :c

Get ready to be disappointed
 

This is an awesome review and you stole the words right out of my mouth. I'm glad to see we favored the same song! I think it shows a lot of different sides just in one track but doesn't sound too choppy. 
 
I really liked this album its easily my second favorite after zeitgeist.
 
thank you for reviewing this!

Awesome review as usual @fitear1590 - I always enjoy your writing!
 
I enjoy this album, but there just aren't any moments that make me go "UMPHHH!!!" like Koba's shouting before the chorus in "Blood Music.1985" or in "鉄の夢". There are no songs that make me want to just fly off into the clouds with Koba's voice like in the chorus to "Rhapsody in beauty".  Nothing on this album feels as emotionally cathartic as when Koba hits those high notes near the end of "dumb." There are no songs here where I can simply get lost in the beautiful, melancholic guitar interplay and the smooth buttery basslines like in "We" and "はじまりの教会".
 
But, as I said, it's still a good album - hell, it's extremely solid in fact. It just doesn't reach any of the peaks that the other albums reach for me, and the narrative/flow just isn't as compelling for me. I'd rate this as my 4th favorite album of theirs - with Zeitgeist up first, Rhapsody 2nd, and To melt 3rd - with a fucking razor thin difference between those three.
 
My favorite tracks from Hallelujah atm are "Black Rainbow", "1000 years", "Just Going Far" and "What Little Love".

This is an awesome review and you stole the words right out of my mouth. I'm glad to see we favored the same song! I think it shows a lot of different sides just in one track but doesn't sound too choppy. 
 
I really liked this album its easily my second favorite after zeitgeist.
 
thank you for reviewing this!

| Not quite divine, but a PREACH-worthy effort!
 
Tracklist:
1.Hallelujah
2.黒い虹 (Black Rainbow)
3.1000年 (1000 Years)
4.美しい火 (Beautiful Fire)
5.愛はなけなし (What Little Love)
6.風 (Wind)
7.時間さえも年老いて (Even Time Ages)
8.!!!!!!!!!!!
9.ただ遠くへ (Just Going Far)
10.あなたを愛したい (I Want To Love You)
11.いこうよ (IKOUYO)


 
THE NOVEMBERS hold a special place in the hearts of many Monochronmiums. I would go as far as saying, the majority of us who have at least a toe dipped in the waters of the ‘J-Rock’ and Japanese indie scenes, are fans of the band in some capacity. What makes THE NOVEMBERS a unique case is their wide appeal. Without going into strict alter egos, their sound can be divided into two major halves: namely, the light, jangly, and shoegaze-y sound and their darker, more aggressive, alternative sound. Or, as I term them, ~dream ver.~ and ~scream ver.~. While 2015’s Elegance leaned heavily toward the dreamy sound, this album, Hallelujah, seeks to restore balance.
 
The title track eases us into the album delivering (us from evil) with a euphoric sound, featuring simple, ‘tribal’ style drumming. It’s an epic theme, if a bit one-note. Immediately changing gears, the band hangs a hard U-turn with “Black Rainbow.” As the first single release of the album, we got to preview this angsty number back in July. Can anyone say, ‘shoegrunge’? The band maintains the forceful momentum on “1000 Years,” perhaps the best received heavy track on the album, according to comments here on MH. There’s something vaguely thrashy about the riffs on this one. Kobayashi’s harsh vocals are also noteworthy, invoking a paradoxically restrained rawness.
 
With a pretty strong start to the album, tracks 3 through 6 form a flawless stretch for me, as someone who predominantly gravitates toward THE NOVEMBERS’ lighter sound. “Beautiful Fire" is gorgeous and the polar opposite to the grittiness of the previous two tracks. It has more conviction than the wispy work on last year's Elegance and it also marks a glorious return to those warm horn arrangements, a nod to 2012's stunning GIFT EP (did you really think I could get through a NOVEMBERS review without namedropping it?), which adds a nostalgic touch. “What Little Love” is a track I slept on at first, but if I had to choose now, I’d probably nominate it as my album fave! I know @togz agrees with me! What’s fascinating about this track is its fusion of the band’s two sides. The dark, but tranquil verses are somewhat reminiscent of 2013's zeitgeist-era tracks like “Meursault.” The choruses, however, are where the band’s dreamier side shows through again. The piercing, ethereal synths are a NOVEMBERS signature, but during the chorus, they creep ever so gingerly towards dissonance, adding a striking tension to this song. Bringing up the rear of my album high is “Wind.” I’m not sure the band has ever produced a number quite like this, with bright riffs that would be at home in 90s/early 2000s ‘white kei.’ If you’re wondering what the hell I ever mean with ‘jangly’ guitar, look no further than “Wind.” Plus, Kobayashi hits an unusually high register in this track that is truly music to my earholes.
 
“Even Time Ages” is where Hallelujah starts to falter. Don’t get me wrong, I actually quite enjoy this gloomier track, but it feels like what we’ve heard before on zeitgeist or mid-album on 2014's Rhapsody in beauty. "!!!!!!!!!!!" is arguably the weakest showing on the album, lacking the distortion to back up how aggressive it wants to be. “Just Going Far” seems to directly cite zeitgeist’s “Flower of life” with its contrasting heavy bass and airy synth approach, though I suppose this one has more of a somber mood. “I Want To Love You” is where the band gets back on track, granting us a droning, unabashedly shoegaze ballad, if such a thing exists.  In fact, this track and the closer “IKOUYO” summon the distortion that their last album, Rhapsody in beauty, so selfishly hogged for the ~screamy~ tracks,  proving that the ~dreamy~ side can get down and dirty just as well.
 
Dazzling (and colorful) cover art aside, Hallelujah is unlikely to go down as many people’s favorite NOVEMBERS album. Despite unprecedented tracks like “Wind” and “I Want To Love You,” the album is just a little too derivative of work they’ve already released. Having said that, ‘more of the same’ is not necessarily a bad thing. Overall, Hallelujah is still a kickass record and is commendable for balancing the band’s two primary sounds more effectively than on recent releases. THE NOVEMBERS have been around for eleven years and it's not that they are starting to show their age. Rather, it’s simply getting tougher and tougher for them to outdo themselves. Even so, they remain as solid as ever. Perhaps, we just need to reconceptualize Hallelujah as something to hold us over until their inevitable release in 2017. I, for one, am already looking forward to discovering where the band will take us next. And maybe, just maybe, the band will give us a decent promo photo next year so I don't have to resort to a still from a PV!

What did you think of Hallelujah?
 

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To be honest... listening to most of their recent releases.... It's fun and all... like yeah it'd be fun live or something... but often times I find myself not really knowing what song is playing anymore... even though I've been very aware of their releases for a long time. I could probably listen to their discography religiously for weeks and still have songs I mix up with others... But I'm not going to call bad musicians or something on them, because I do enjoy a good lynch listen every now and then. SHADOWS was their peak for me.