doombox 4421 Posted July 11, 2015 Artist: NoisyCell Album: Sources 1. Flagship 7. CONTINUE? 2. Blaze a Trail 8. Bluff 3. Dream Box 9. Pool of Water 4. Shelter 10. Birth 5. Insomnia 11. (Over You) 6. Last Theater Rating: | A ambitious effort from screamo's new kids on the block. Living up to their name, NoisyCell have been creating quite a buzz in the last 2 years. They teamed up with Pablo (Pay money To my Pain) as their producer and have been taking the alternative rock scene by storm. Sources is their first full length offering that picks up exactly where their last mini album left us. They got on the anime theme train early and seem to be content with riding it until the wheels fall off. The songwriting on Sources is solid and its energy is intense. Guitarist and clean vocalist Ryosuke - not to be confused with the other guitarist/screamer, Ryo - has an incredible range to his voice. It positively soars in the second half of this album when mid-tempo songs take root and come one after another. His voice, in and of itself, becomes a major focal point for this band despite personal bias for vocalists or not. That doesn't mean the guitars and drums aren't their own tour de force, however. For a three piece, there's surprisingly a lot going on, sometimes even to the detriment of the songs if things aren't balanced. Sources opens with the song "Flagship" and the impression it left wasn't exactly what I hoped for. It's a hard pill to swallow, as it starts with an abrupt scream before small bits of melody creep in. Even as someone who loves this genre, it left me wishing for some kind of small instrumental SE just to get me remotely amped up before it blasted off. Its composition is messy, unbalanced, and even the beat didn't find its most potent groove until the song was more than two-thirds over. The following track, "Blaze a Trail", is basically the first song, only better. It has catchier melodies, heavier breakdowns, and the guitars are complementing each other with some purpose - not simply thrashing around as loud and fast as possible. However, there is no need to fear! NoisyCell finally get themselves sorted out with the next couple of songs. "Dream Box", my personal favorite of the entire album after its much needed rerecording, and "Shelter" keep things much smoother from here when it comes to song composition and balancing chaotic energy with visceral emotions. At this point, the album splits itself in two, which makes me wonder if Sources wouldn't have been better as two separate mini albums or a shuffling of the tracklist could have been useful to mix some of the heavier first half into the melancholic second half for dynamics' sake. "Insomnia" is an ambient instrumental track that brings the ride to a complete stop. It's there for one purpose: to let everyone know the song they came to hear is about to start. That song being "Last Theater", known to some as the ending theme for the anime Death Parade. High fives to whoever is choosing the music for that one, by the way. Things pick up again slightly with a punchy chiptune inspired track that folds in some current J-pop trends. And while it's a little random, it's a nice reprieve from the some of same-iness going on earlier in the tracklist. From here, things continue to get slower and more melodic. "Bluff", "Pool of Water", and "Birth" are all pleasant when they stand alone, but lose some of their shine stacked together, especially after the stop-and-look-where-our-entire-production-budget-went spectacle of "Last Theater". "(Over You)" works great closing up the album as it breaks out the acoustic guitars for a slow burn kind of build towards the huge anthemic and satisfying ending. I would have given this album half a star more for better track placement on a lot of these songs, plus a decent album intro. It's a rookie mistake. I expect maybe they overreached just a tad, and I can't hold their ambition against them too much. Otherwise, there's a little something on this album for everyone and I think anyone interested in screamo that is pushing the envelope will find this album worth a spin or two. Support the band! Purchase Sources @ CDJapan Purchase Sources @ HMV Purchase Sources @ iTunes JP 6 Zeus, beni, Greyen and 3 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CAT5 9075 Posted July 13, 2015 Checked out the PV song, and I can definitely dig the music, even if the vocal style isn't my cup of tea. (also typing this while listening, with your SiM gif in plain sight, it kinda goes with the music at times, haha) What are your favorite tracks from the album? 1 doombox reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doombox 4421 Posted July 13, 2015 Yay! The music has a lot of interesting stuff going on, even down to the jazzy bits in "Dream Box", which I love love love. Besides that, I'm big on "Blaze a Trail", "Last Theater", "Bluff", and "Pool of Water". LOL. That gif does go pretty good with the music, doesn't it? XD Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Kaye 296 Posted July 13, 2015 After all these months I'm still in love with Last Theater but I have to admit the album was kind of a letdown as a whole. There's good and nice songs but nothing really stuck. I had hoped for there to be something more. Oh well, at least they've grabbed my interest and I'll surely be checking them out with whichever release that comes up next, though I feel they should have waited a little before releasing a full length album. 1 doombox reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doombox 4421 Posted July 13, 2015 I wouldn't be surprised if it was label pressure to have the full album. Something big they can sell while they're hot right now. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
emmny 4139 Posted July 14, 2015 i saw screamo thinking it was trve screamo but this post-hardcore isnt that bad they're catchy Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doombox 4421 Posted July 14, 2015 In japan, I typically see post-hardcore thrown under the "screamo" or "loud rock" umbrella term. But saying "loud rock" here would leave a large portion of people even more confused, thusly I went with screamo as this isn't even trve post-hardcore either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
diamondAss 114 Posted July 15, 2015 i think they sound 'try hard-ish', also the video was annoyingly random. despite the first impression i guess i´ll give the album a chance though Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
