doombox 4421 Posted August 6, 2015 Artist: 黒百合と影 (Kuroyuri to kage) Album: アケスケ羞恥録 (Akesuke shuuchiroku) 1. 「便所」 (Benjyo) 2. ぺど。(Pedo.) 3. ティシューの空箱 (Tissue no karabako) 4. 児童公園 (Jidouyuuen) 5. 高田馬場えいりあん (Takadanobaba alien) 6. ぼくのともだち。 (Boku no tomodachi.) 7. 花と骨 (Hana to hone) Rating: | Quantity over quality strikes again. Forming only last year, delightfully dark 黒百合と影 return with a new mini album after their last full length won over a plethora of cynics. Their style is equal parts doom and gloom musically, lyrically, and aesthetically. This time around they decided to up the ante by increasing their creepy factor and centering their concept for this release around children and the loss of innocence. アケスケ羞恥録's titles like "ぺど。", "児童公園", which translates to 'playground', and "ぼくのともだち。" meaning 'my friend' should start to bring some very specific imagery to mind. Part of what I love about 黒百合と影 is their use of nu-metal groove and sludge metal overtones to give a distinct sound in the sea of visual indies bands battling it out for your attention. Just when I thought nu-metal was getting phased out of the scene, they came and made it awesome again! So after having a great appreciation for the approach taken on the last album I was beyond pumped to take this one out for a spin. Though, when my hype settled down and I fully digested this new batch of songs, I ended up enjoying this album less with each listen. Actually, the more I listen to it, the more I hear where the band simply 'phoned it in'. This mini feels rushed and devoid of much inspiration, frankly. The opening track, "便所" felt so much like an old Coal Chamber song that it was distracting. A quick listen to "Loco" and the first minute will show you what I'm talking about. I ain't calling it plagiarism, but there are some undeniable similarities going on here underneath that layer of violin synth. I'm just sayin'. At other times, certain members' shortcomings are highlighted when they seemed much less conspicuous before. I can appreciate vocalist Karasuna Mei's drive to push his vocals in new directions, but songs like "ティシューの空箱" and "ぼくのともだち。" sacrifice vocal control for extra levels of emotion and it becomes more cringe worthy than engrossing. Both start off pleasant enough but soon lose their focus, and being part of the host of songs on this album suffering from extremely cut and paste construction doesn't help them to engage the listener, either. It all begins to blend into other songs you've already heard this band make before. That's not to say a couple of songs don't fight their way out of the murk. My favorite pick off of the album is "ぺど。", and while it doesn't reinvent the wheel, the song is one of the only ones on the album that felt thoroughly conceptualized from first note to last. It plays off of the band's signature sound, then proceeds to add a creep-tastic music box and venomous machine-gun guitar riffs into the mix. The song has fist-pumping highs and somber lows that all compliment and build off of each other. "児童公園" is also a highlight with some sexy slap bass from K that snaps it out of the same-y territory right away. The call-back style vocals are a nice, quirky addition that make the song more memorable than its comrades. It is a tad unfortunate that nothing on the album compares to 黒百合と影's previous work, though I wouldn't call any of it unlistenable, by any means. However, as much as I do love the 90s, they should consider leaving just a little more of it back where they found it. They seem to have hit the proverbial wall for creativity for now, but I will be holding out hope that it returns in the future. This is a group of talented musicians, but maybe it's time they took a break and got real honest with themselves about their own strengths and weaknesses. Support the band! Purchase アケスケ羞恥録 @ CDJapan Purchase アケスケ羞恥録 @ HMV Purchase アケスケ羞恥録 @ JP iTunes 9 Elazmus, Takadanobabaalien, Seimeisen and 6 others reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CAT5 9075 Posted August 7, 2015 I more or less agree with your sentiments here and probably would have rated it around the same thing. While I can't say that I was into these guys too deeply, their album from earlier this year did manage to leave an impression. I was hoping for some more melodic ventures like 'チャイルドマザー' and 'ひとり桜。', but found myself pretty underwhelmed in that regard. Nothing on here was downright unlistenable, though. Fantastic review, Kellyさん! 2 doombox and Yukimoto reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Yukimoto 1237 Posted August 7, 2015 I agree with you whole-heartedly. I felt like I didn't really find anything that I liked as much as yokusou from their first album which I think was the highlight of that album for me. When I first heard it I instantly liked it and couldn't wait to hear more from the band but I guess I wasn't as psyched anymore after hearing the mini. Maybe I'll give it another listen. 2 doombox and Seimeisen reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jigsaw9 6783 Posted August 7, 2015 Cool review! I went into listening to this mini with great expectations, and I guess it isn't bad or anything, it just didn't grip me as much as their massive debut full-length. It starts off really strong with the first two tracks, then kinda stagnates in a "this is good enough I guess"-type of repetition of sounds, and then towards the end they try to change it up a bit, not too convincingly though. On the other hand, there's a nice overall soundscape of dirty distorted tones and fitting atmosphere, which is a huge plus. These guys made a clear-cut world for themselves, and they're okay with sticking to it, and I'm totally okay with that too. I'd rather listen to this kind of VK than all the dime-a-dozen metalcore-wannabes. All in all, it's a solid listen but a bit of a letdown compared to their fantastic beginnings. On its own, however, it's a pretty fine achievement for such a young band. (I'm a bit torn whether to give a 6.5 or a 7, but gonna go with a weak 7 cuz these guys are still pretty cool in my book) 3 doombox, anieresus and Zeus reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elazmus 1873 Posted August 7, 2015 Personally I think I like this mini more than their album. Both releases have about the same number of songs that I'd put on repeat (thus making AS pound-for-pound stronger to me) Benjo, Pedo. and Takadanobaba Alien are gold to me and I kind of like the other track more the more I hear them. Good review I'm so happy this is featured :] 4 Silverhawk33, anieresus, doombox and 1 other reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anieresus 270 Posted August 7, 2015 Good review!I instantly fell in love with Takadanobaba Alien (cause that's a station I take everyday). Some parts of this mini-album reminded me of Kiryu, it might just be me though...Nothing too bad but not too great either. 1 CAT5 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
fitear1590 2414 Posted August 7, 2015 Some parts of this mini-album reminded me of Kiryu, it might just be me though... Ooh, now I'm interested. Could you point me to the songs that were particularly Kiryu-ish? 1 Elazmus reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Elazmus 1873 Posted August 7, 2015 I agree with the Kiryu statement completely I know exactly what you mean. (listen to BENJO for the vocals) 2 anieresus and fitear1590 reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
anieresus 270 Posted August 7, 2015 Ooh, now I'm interested. Could you point me to the songs that were particularly Kiryu-ish? At this moment I can only recall「便所」having it's Kiryu-ish moments (especially towards the end of the song). But throughout the mini album there were instances that it reminded me a bit of Kiryu's first songs. But like I said it might have just been me. 2 fitear1590 and Elazmus reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
