Featured Review #48: new place by 雨のパレード (Ame no Parade)

[CAT5 9075]

Artist: 雨のパレード (Ame no Parade) Album: new place 1. new place 2. encore 3. bam 4. inst/□ 5. 僕≠僕 6. 夜の匂い 7. YES 8. AM4:29

Rating: | WAIT WUT? NON-VISUAL VISUAL ROCK?!?!

 

If you thought Visual Kei was the only musical paradigm in Japan where you could find bands with a strong emphasis on, well, visuals, then you're wrong! Up-and-coming indie outfit Ame no Parade offer an entirely immersive "art-rock" experience. The quartet consists of Kohei Fukunaga (vocals), Mineho Osawa (drums), Kosuke Yamasaki (guitar), and Ryosuke Korenaga (bass). Additionally, they have their very own in-house creative staff - a painter, a fashion designer, and a jewelry artist. With this inventive ensemble, the band has a firm foot in the music arena as well as the art world, which lands them atypical gigs at places like fashion shows and art galleries. But for a band with such a dynamic focus, how do they hold up on a strictly musical basis? new place, Ame no Parade's third and latest mini album, is the perfect place to explore this question. It's their second release under the highly esteemed indie label Zankyo Records, and for most indie-heads, that's an automatic sign of quality. As musicians, they're as competent as any other bands on the roster. Drummer Mineho is especially ingenious. Having previously played in jazz bands, she brings a certain eccentric grace that perfectly accentuates their post-rock leanings.

Kohei's singing is also a pleasant draw for the band. He has that typical, effeminate vocal tone that you can find in any number of radio-ready Japanese indie-rock bands (think plenty, people in the box, dry as dust, etc), but his delivery is pristine and soulful enough to distinguish him from his peers. Kosuke and Ryosuke are no slouches either, as the former makes clever use of effects pedals to create different guitar tones and variations without straying from the band's sound, and the latter's buttery basslines are the icing on the cake.

When these four coalesce, they're easily capable of making magic, but that's not always a guarantee. Title track and album opener "new place" is an excellent example of when they get it right, though. As soon as the song starts, the melody of the opening riffs and Kohei's catchy "ooh"s and "woo"s are enough to make you think that you're about to hear the latest EDM hit, but as soon as Mineho's drums kick in, you realize that you're in for something a bit different. Whether it's the subtle, yet deviceful drumming, the minimalistic and calculated guitar, or Kohei's piercing vocal lines - Ame no Parade's strength lies in taking the familiar and repainting it from different musical palettes. The result is usually atmospheric pop with the combined ingenuity of indie-rock, post-rock, and math-rock. In addition to "new place", "encore" and "僕≠僕 (boku≠boku)" are the tracks where this style of songwriting works best.

But even with such a potent formula, the band doesn't always replicate the same results. The 'sparse-verse-to-explosive-chorus' structure that was established in the opening track is recycled throughout the first leg of the album and wears especially thin by the third track "bam" - a song with much less impact than its title insinuates. "YES" and "夜の匂い (Yoru no Nioi)" are more amorphous in design, but the melodies are demure at best, and neither Mineho's intricate percussion nor Kohei's crooning is enough to sustain interest. With these tracks, it feels like the band was more interested in establishing atmosphere rather than engaging the listener. Furthermore, the instrumental interlude "inst/□" seems like an unnecessary prelude to the song that follows, and the final track "AM4:29" is five minutes of ambience with no intrinsic value other than sounding like 'a good way to close the album'.

All in all, new place is a decent release from a promising young band. It's got some good songs and a few potential growers, but your experience with it depends on just how much you'll be able to tap into and appreciate the band's aesthetic. They've certainly got the chops to make compelling music, but for now, it seems like they're more focused on curating than creating.

Support the band!

Purchase new place @ CDJapan

Purchase new place @ HMV

Purchase new place @ iTunes JP

[Zeus 7997]

That PV spot is trippy as hell. I'm not quite sure what I was looking at the entire time, but the music fit along with it well. I do see how you came across the issue you did when reviewing and rating this album. There are parts of that song that I don't remember, and then the chorus and a guitar lick is on repeat in my head after only a few listens. It's simultaneously addicting and unsatisfying. I also was thrown off by the vocalist, expecting someone a bit more eccentric or a bit less typical J-Indie vocalist, but this is the type of music where those vocals fit so it wasn't hard to overlook. I guess that's my fault for expecting anything before listening.

 

Great review @CAT5!

[doombox 4421]

I really love this band but I did find a large chunk of the album rather forgettable. The song you posted is definitely my favorite and the album is still a nice listen even if some of it doesn't leave as strong an impression of some of their other work. I'll definitely keep checking for their new releases though. Thanks for covering this one.

[yakihiko 1480]

I saw the MV first to take my own thoughts before read your own.

I saw an amazing art video, I was really trying to detect what was that, so after 3, 4 scenes, I could detected the paints works that are really stunning, they probably have used an equipment to get a higher view from the paint colors molecules. After you said "Art-Rock" and that they have a painter on the band, so I can say I'm 100% correct.

The singer has a harmonious voice, I should try them more.

Also, I will enjoy some recommendations from them.

I'm used to hear always vk, so trying a @CAT5's song is something "different".

I can say, we have another artist we both like lol, this is pretty hard to happen.

Thank you for the review.

[DeithX252 1266]

Their first mini album was impressive, so I will give the new album a listen, thanks for the review!