featured review #82: downy - 第六作品集『無題』

[Zeus 7997]

 

 

 

| One of the finest rock albums of 2016. downy do it again!

 

downy's decision to return to making music after a very long lull in activity is one of the best things to ever happen to Japanese rock music. They've occupied the three way musical intersection between melancholic shoegaze, experimental post-rock, and musical perfection since their formation in 2000. Oft mentioned in the same breath as 八十八ヶ所巡礼 (88-Kasyo Junrei) or 凛として時雨 (Ling Tosite Sigure), there's a very good reason why all eyes are on downy whenever they announce a new release. 第六作品集『無題』  (dai roku sakuhin shuu 『mudai』) is the album I've been waiting all year to listen to and I didn't even know it. I can't remember the last time an album opener such as "凍る花 (Kooru Hana)" enamored me within seconds. Before I knew it I was four or five tracks in, completely lost in downy's world. Shuffle beats and 9/8 rhythms backed by spacious production give rise to a pulsating musical juggernaut which demands your attention, and it's hard to find a reason to press pause.

 

I'm impressed with the focus and clarity of downy's vision. Transitions between tracks as well as between different segments within tracks flow like water. They elude genre classification of even the loosest standards, breaking all sorts of rules about how rock is "supposed to sound" and opting instead for a hybrid audio/visual experience at live events. The second track "檸檬 (Jukujijun)" is a great example of this: fusing palettes of rock with a healthy does of electronic perturbation among mathy transitions, frantic guitar, and uncommon time signatures would crush lesser bands, but downy nails it without a second thought. What impresses me more is how well it stitches the first and the third tracks together; the former has an almost industrial post-rock vibe to it while the latter has a stronger focus on the rhythm with brass embellishments. 第六作品集『無題』 is so cohesive track names are almost a convenience, and a solid argument can be made that the album should be listened to as a whole.

 

There are a few constants which tie the album together; the cerebral rhythm section, band leader Aoki Robin's breathy vocals, a wall of layered sounds which fills any and all the empty space in the mix, and a tendency to suddenly change gears and throw something new at the listener. All roads point towards the climax in "乱反射 (Ranhansha)", but it's the journey rather than the destination which makes the trip worth it. In an interview with Yoshi from Brown Noise Unit, noted "We aimed to create original stuff, but we take a lot of care in how it is expressed, so if you found gentleness in the sound, I think that's just coming through from the love we have for music. We've always known we had to choose music, so maybe that's what you're feeling.". This is an incredibly bold and powerful statement for a musician to make, and yet when the album ends I immediately want more.

 

This is one of the best albums of 2016. Get on it.

 

 

 

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[Ada Suilen 652]

Really good review! I found this album quite interesting (for being my first approach with this band, of which I've heared talking a lot) and fascinating, for me is a 3.5/5 but it could grow on me in future listenings. Surely it made me more curious about their past works

[Original Saku 1593]

Easily one of the most solid albums I've listened to this year, and equally enjoyable as well. There's just something about downy that screams genius and captures you at the cusp of insanity and brilliance. After their amazing comeback album in 2013 that is still to this day on my music rotation, I was a little skeptical whether they would be able to meet the same level of quality and sheer musical prowess, but they did it.

 

great review @Zeus

[CAT5 9075]

I've listened to this album the most out of anything this year! I'm not sure if I like it better than 5th, but it's still a great album, and different it its own way. If I were to compare the sounds of the 6th and 5th albums in terms of shape, I'd say that 5th is a steady, upwards curve and 6th is also an upwards curve, but it curls into itself in the middle. I'm not sure if that description makes sense to anyone on its own, so I'll attempt to further explain what I mean: The 5th album was cohesive, but in terms of production, it was also more expansive. I call it a 'steady, upwards curve' because each track presented a new soundscape - whether it was Robin delving into new vocal fx, or sound of the drums changing - with each step, the narrative also progressed smoothly despite the distinct sounds of each track. They all helped to build upon each other to reach a single point - like a straight stairway leading to the album's closer, but with each step feeling like a world of its own.

 

This album, the 6th, feels more like a spiraling stairway. The atmosphere of the album is as cohesive as it gets, but the soundscape is also fairly static. Robin's vocals are more upfront on almost every track, without as many vocal fx, the sound of the drums are the same throughout, and there aren't layers upon layers of background noises and fx. It's almost as if they made this album with  the intent of it being able to translate really easily to a live setting. I describe this one as an 'upwards curve that it curls into itself in the middle' because I feel  like instead of each track adding something new to the sound, they take the same sound they've established and just go deeper with it. I don't know what the cover is supposed to be, but it looks like something in nature being viewed microscopically - and that's the general feel I get from this album, a feeling of going deeper. I especially get this feeling starting from the 3rd track and REALLY culminating at the 6th track. The 8th track feels like the ascent out of that inwards spiral , with 9 feeling like a newly reached destination. Overall, I think 6th has less standouts than 5th, but I think they're both really strong, yet different albums.

 

Sorry if this all seems very vague, overly poetic, or just confusing, but this is pretty much how i've come to view this album. downy doesn't easily submit to descriptions anyways.

 

Those are my thoughts for now. The album's only been out a little over a week, so I'm sure i'll have more thoughts about it in the future!

 

Cool review @Zeus. Always glad to see these guys get some attention!

 

Edited September 16, 2016 by CAT5

[enyx 903]

downy is just on a whole different level to pretty much everyone else these days. Their first four albums were already really solid releases and more than enough to secure their place in the history of Japanese post-rock folklore, but their two albums post-return have cemented them as one of the best of all time in my books. They're completely on their own wavelength, and no matter how many times I relisten to their stuff it always seems to throw something new at me time and time again. I don't even care to try to rank their 6th compared to the 5th (or even the rest of their discography, to be honest), they're all consistently brilliant and this one is no exception.

 

(not entirely sure where the 88kasyo/Ling comparisons come from but oh well :P)

[Zeus 7997]

1 hour ago, Pho said:

downy is just on a whole different level to pretty much everyone else these days. Their first four albums were already really solid releases and more than enough to secure their place in the history of Japanese post-rock folklore, but their two albums post-return have cemented them as one of the best of all time in my books. They're completely on their own wavelength, and no matter how many times I relisten to their stuff it always seems to throw something new at me time and time again. I don't even care to try to rank their 6th compared to the 5th (or even the rest of their discography, to be honest), they're all consistently brilliant and this one is no exception.

 

(not entirely sure where the 88kasyo/Ling comparisons come from but oh well :P)

When I think of mainstream J-Rock bands that have developed a style and sound of music all their own that cannot be copied, only three come to mind. That would be 88Kasyo, Ling, and downy. I didn't mean to imply they sound similar.

[Original Saku 1593]

5 hours ago, Zeus said:

When I think of mainstream J-Rock bands that have developed a style and sound of music all their own that cannot be copied, only three come to mind. That would be 88Kasyo, Ling, and downy. I didn't mean to imply they sound similar.

 

The thing is, I don't think of any of those bands as 'mainstream' honestly... at least not my perception of the word. the closest one I would associate would be Ling and that's just because of their anime theme output as of late.