Featured Review #56: HEAR YOU by toe

[CAT5 9075]

Artist: toe Album: HEAR YOU 1. Premonition (Beginning Of A Desert Of Human) 2. A Desert Of Human 3. Commit Ballad feat. CHARA 4. . The World According To 5. My Little Wish 6. Song Silly feat. Olivia Burrell 7. Boyo 8. Time Goes feat. 5lack 9. オトトタイミングキミト (oto to timing kimi to) feat. Kimura Kaela 10. G.O.O.D.L.U.C.K feat. U-zhaan / Kumi Maya Ayaya 11. Because I Hear You

Rating: | a fractured toe that can still stand somewhat firm

 

If you've ever ventured into the realm of Japanese instrumental rock, then you've undoubtedly heard of toe, as they're perhaps the most prominent name to emerge out of Japan's sprawling sea of post/math-rock bands. The band has been around since 2000, and they've literally had ten 'toe's deep in the music industry since then - working with tons of musicians from all sides of the business. In fact, it's almost become a trend in their releases to feature renown and respected J-pop figures like Asako Toki (cymbals), ACO, Ikuko Harada (clammbon) and so on. Though despite the band's clout and reputation (and the fact that they've been around for 15 years now), HEAR YOU is only toe's third album. Arriving a whopping six years after their previous LP, this album attempts to sate the apetites of long-time toe fans as well as push the band in new directions. One look at the tracklist and, assuming you're familiar with the featured musicians, you'd think the band has already accomplished those two feats. There's the obligatory J-pop vocal features - "Commit Ballad" with the iconic CHARA, and "オトトタイミングキミト (oto to timing kimi to)" with the popular Kaela Kimura. Both tracks are nods to toe's past, as CHARA gives a fully fleshed vocal performance like ACO in 2012's "月、欠け (tsuki kake)", and Kaela's voice is used more like a hip hop sample, the same as Ikuko Harada in 2009's "After Image".

There's also " Time Goes" featuring the underground rapper 5lack, "Song Silly" with backup vocalist Olivia Burrel, and " G.O.O.D.L.U.C.K " with the prolific percussionist U-zhaan, who's worked with almost everyone from Miyavi to Yoko Kanno. These three tracks are probably the most blatant attempts of toe experimenting with their sound. Although even with these features, the outcomes are less appealing than they seem on paper.

"song silly" features a rather dull electronic drum beat with some appropriately? goofy sounding Engrish vocals from guitarist Mino. You don't even hear Olivia Burrell until the end of the song, and even then, it's just a few minor "doo doo's", that don't add much to the song. A kind gesture naming her as a feature, but it hardly justifies itself in the song. "time goes" is equally awkward for toe. It's not a full song, but more like an interlude that leads into the next track. Still, 5lack's short verse on it is sloppy and upholds the Japanese rap standard of failing to stay on beat. "オトトタイミングキミト ト (oto to timing kimi to)" is basically the continuation of "time goes" and has a fittingly hip-hoppish bop to it. It's a pleasant track , but to quote a pal - 'It just sounds like Nujabes'. Thankfully there's no rapping in it, though. On the other features, U-zhaan performs just about as good as can be expected and CHARA's singing is surprisingly smooth, compared to her usually shrill offerings. But even these feature tracks are plagued by a larger problem that envelopes the entire album.

Takashi Kashikura's dynamic drumming is mostly M.I.A. throughout HEAR YOU, as his performance is noticeably restrained to clear-cut, minimal beats. The only song where his skills really shine and hearken back vintage toe is "My Little Wish". For long-time toe fans, you can't help but feel the dearth of energy Kashikura's subdued drumming leaves. Guitarists Mino and Yamazaki still have impeccable interplay, but their songwriting is missing that factor that made past toe songs so riveting. Tracks like "A Desert Human" and the previously mentioned "commit ballad" are enjoyable enough to bob your head along to, but the songs offer you much incentive to want to revisit. Even the album closer "Because I Hear You" is severely anticlimactic and just kind of plods along without any real purpose. "The World According To" and "Boyo" are probably the only tracks that come close to anything emotionally gripping.

HEAR YOU is still a good effort despite the album's shortcomings. The flow of the album in almost seamless and almost plays like one big narrative, with each track progressing the story. Even tracks like 'Song Silly', which individually doesn't even sound like a traditional toe song, manages to fit into the context of the album. But more importantly than cohesiveness, toe proves that they are incapable of writing poor music. As lackluster as this album is, it's still "good" on many accounts, because what toe does naturally, other bands can only hope to replicate. HEAR YOU will certainly not eclipse toe's previous work, and it likely won't please long time fans either, but it at least makes for some really great background music.

Support the band!

"HEAR YOU" on bandcamp

"HEAR YOU" on iTunes US

"HEAR YOU" on CDjapan

[enyx 903]

Personally I both really like like this album yet simultaneously consider it their weakest full-length effort. Some of the things that seem to have griped you, such as Olivia Burrell's minor role in Song Silly or Time Goes essentially being an interlude, don't really bother me so much. Others, such as Kashikura's extremely restrained drumming, hold the album back quite a bit at times; it fits on songs like Song Silly, which is pretty much built upon minimal beats and basically being depressing as fuck, but surely he could have done a bit more on something like Boyo, for example.

 

On the whole, I find both the album's greatest strength and greatest weakness to be the fact that the majority of the songs just kind of blend together without really hitting any sort of peak, but never getting particularly 'bad' either. At no point do I ever feel bored listening to the album, but I don't find any tracks quite as appealing as what's come before. A lot of these songs are the type of thing I'd be more likely to listen to if I was simply shuffling toe's discography rather that seeking them out specifically.

[Shaolan974 6185]

I'm (re)discovering toe with this album and it's simply amazing.

These guys are really talented.

I am always impressed by the drummer and the alchemy between the guitars.

 

Great job.

 

My favorites are : Premonition (Beginning Of A Desert Of Human)~A Desert of Human, My Little Wish, Because I Hear You and Boyo.

[Ito 2438]

Very much agree - it's an enjoyable album and it has for sure grown on me, but it just doesn't hold up in comparison to a lot of their previous work. Underwhelming is probably the best word for it. I think from any other artist I feel like I would hold up "Hear You" a bit higher, but for a band that I love so dearly and releases music so slowly...man
 

Also, I'm not sure why Yamazaki insists on singing. This might come off as a bit polarizing, but he is a pretty crap vocalist. It comes of kind of endearing in stuff like "goodbye" (though I like Toki Asako's vocal in the version off of "For Long Tomorrow" much more), but in "silly song" half of the time I reach for the skip button.

[CAT5 9075]

 

Also, I'm not sure why Yamazaki insists on singing. This might come off as a bit polarizing, but he is a pretty crap vocalist. It comes of kind of endearing in stuff like "goodbye" (though I like Toki Asako's vocal in the version off of "For Long Tomorrow" much more), but in "silly song" half of the time I reach for the skip button.

 

Yeah, I didn't go into it too much in the review, but I felt the same. I feel like it works in songs like "Boyo" where his vocals aren't that pronounced, but when it's the main focus like in "song silly", I really can't get into it. That, and I have and I am usually very picky about Engrish.