la la larks - ego-izm

[Zeus 7997]

Artist: la la larks Album: ego-izm Score: A pleasure to listen to from start to finish.

It's bad enough that I have a difficult time treating school food punishment and la la larks as two different bands, but la la larks isn't trying too hard to make that distinction themselves. Yumi Uchimura must be abiding by the adage of "If it's not broke, don't fix it". school food punishment wasn't broken - it just found itself in a position where it couldn't continue down the path Yumi envisioned. It seems natural to me then that la la larks' first single is so impressive, even amidst the almost devoid hype.

It's also come to my attention that I unconsciously gravitate towards mentioning the production before getting into the content of the review. In this case however, the production is what makes la la larks such a pleasure to listen to. The label must have blessed la la larks with a budget that would make Dir en grey envious. The sound that producer Ryo Eguchi achieved here is the perfect blend between the organic and the artificial. There's a lot going on in both ego-izm and end of refrain and yet the instruments aren't competing with one another for the listener's attention. That's a large achievement and is something most bands never get quite right. la la larks nails it on their first release. Ponder that for a moment.

ego-izm was used as the ending theme of M3〜ソノ黒キ鋼〜. In my humble opinion, this song was too different from the show thematically, sonically, and lyrically to fit. It's a disappointment that the anime was too much of a confused and introspective Evangelion-stanning brainfart mecha that went nowhere to get any type of real hype, as I'm sure that's what the record company was shooting for. It's not much of a setback, since it sounds like Yumi has finally reconciled making anime pop fodder with experimenting as an artist. I expect them to do another theme very soon. ego-izm is best described as the spiritual successor to How to go, resembling more of the former band's indie period than major period. This is a Very Good Thing^TM. If you require an explanation, imagine swelling violin guitars, boisterious piano and bass runs, and the vocals of an angel so sweet you might fall in love on first listen. I've had this single on repeat since I've gotten my hands on it and I haven't grown tired of the title track yet.

The B-sides are where things get a lot more interesting, and by more interesting I mean "sound even more like indie-era school food punishment". end of refrain sounds like it could come straight out of riff-rain, what with the acoustic guitar that pans from left to right just like egoist from said mini-album. Part of me wonders if that was an intentional nod or not. The guitar tapping during the chorus is also memorable, maybe a little too memorable. earworm starts out like it could be an alternate take of transient but halfway through it shifts enough in mood and song progression to stand out as it's own track. Both are wonderful tracks that contrast well with the more direct pop effort of the A-side.

There are also instrumental versions of the first two tracks. If you want to more fully enjoy the effort that went into producing the music, or if you want to sing karaoke, they're there. Yumi's dynamic vocals are one of the greatest appeals to listening to her music, so naturally the vocalless versions aren't as appealing as their completed counterparts. Still, they're worth a mention for their inclusion.

In most cases, a new band sounding exactly like the old one is taken as a point of criticism. But just this once I don't mind. J-Pop has missed the unique blend of electronic and pop music that Uchimura is known for. The fact that it sounds like a redux of riff-rain only makes it better. This is what many school food punishment fans have wanted and thought they would never get since riff-rain. I'm just really glad that she's back and hasn't missed a beat, and has also found band members willing and capable to execute her vision to the fullest.

If you were a school food punishment fan, you're already all over this. If you missed that boat, this is a perfect opportunity to get acquainted with some refreshing and unique pop music.

[keyinjpop 89]

I was a fan of sfp and I definitely hear indie sfp in ego-izm. Not a bad thing in my opinion.