gekiai 231 Posted March 31, 2017 (edited) PLASTICZOOMS is my most recent discovery so I figured I should make a review on them! PLASTICZOOMS - PLASTICZOOMS Disclaimer: 1) This is actually my first time listening to PLASTICZOOMS seriously, so this is probably really objective...nor can I cite or compare any of their other previous works 2) I don’t know much musical lingo, despite being in band/orchestra for 4 years. So I’m not gonna get all complex, though I wish I could 3) This is my first review. Have mercy on me please (but do give me critiques and/or your opinion on the work too!) Let's get started! Frontal Attack: Every time this track comes on I just smile some to myself. It sounds so...spacey and weird, but I think this it works well. As the song progresses, more things are added from extra beats, to the guitars, and finally Sho. So as an introduction, I guess it gets the job done as an “SE” of some sort. The Future: It’s a good transition from Frontal Attack. The track itself is..quite alright. It doesn’t knock me off my feet, but it’s definitely something I don’t mind hearing when it comes on shuffle. The guitar solo part is pretty darn cool though, and I love to hear the drums in that part too. The rough vocals Sho uses near the end is a nice touch too. Quite Clearly: This is the song that I liked at first, but then I listened to it more afterwards and felt kinda meh towards it. It has it’s redeeming values, but quite clearly, it’s meh to me. hAH Minds: THIS IS THE SONG THAT I HAD STUCK IN MY HEAD THE ENTIRE WEEK. It’s beautiful, and I love the little melody that comes up in the background occasionally and the slower part before the chorus...omg. I like the female voice along with Sho’s, but I feel in short moments it overpowers his voice somewhat (that may be because of his accent though). This was the song on their album advertisement, which was the only reason I decided to check this out actually! HIGHWAY: The other song I had in my head this week..I dig the vintage feel to it. When I was first dipping my feet into PLASTICZOOMS’ music, this was really the only title track song (aside from P A R A D E ) that really stuck out to me. The chorus is catchy af and i find myself singing along each time. I love the part after the last chorus..just gold. U12: This is the “jollier” song on the album, and it still hasn’t grown on me yet. The bass in this song is pretty great and the part just with it and the synths is fairly cute. Night & Hurt: Aaaand we’re back to the darker stuff. The weird voice/vocals in the background and the occasional spacey sounds (return) really add to the mystery in this song, Sho’s voice in some parts sounds really..I don’t think creepy would say it, but like some evil overlord that's commanding the peasants (or something). I still feel so-so with the song in general, but it always feels so short when I listen to it. Smoke Motion: I don’t know why this reminds me slightly of Quite Clearly, but it does. I think the effects in this song is interesting though, and has me tapping my foot along to the beat at times. This song does a lot and I feel it took me a while to take a lot of in. I daresay this is probably the most “experimental” song on this album...oh and the drums at the end reminded me a bit of the ones in THE NOVEMBERS’ Romancé and I was like “cool, I love this effect!” Veiled Eyes: Ah, the other title track. This is the first song I heard by PLASTICZOOMS (I think), and it didn’t woo me off my feet. It still doesn’t. Honestly, they could’ve chosen Minds as the other title track, even it kinda was the promo song. Breitenbach: I love, love this track. I think it’s a good song to end the album off with. It’s just so pretty, from the piano, the occasionally ornamentations, and the guitars. Ending thoughts: I’m still getting used to Sho’s accented English, so I couldn’t decipher a ton of what he was saying, but I think it would’ve helped with my interpretation maybe. I don’t know if this was the best album for me to start with, but it wasn’t bad. I think the order of the album is pretty good, though U12 threw me off when I was first listening to it. In the end, I will definitely be looking more at their discography, since I really like their sound ! Least Favorite Song?: Veiled Eyes Favorite Song?: Minds, duh Runner Up?: Breitenbach Overall Rating? /10 Edited March 31, 2017 by gekiai gRAMMar, rating change 3 Zeus, Jigsaw9 and saltofstones reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jigsaw9 6783 Posted March 31, 2017 (edited) Unfortunately I did not like this album, even though I had somewhat high hopes after listening to the teasers. It just flows together in the worst way possible for me (i.e. unmemorable and shallow-sounding stuff). I would give it another chance some day maybe, but as of now I don't even have the willpower to relisten, haha. It's not their worst, just very very forgettable. (disclaimer: I regard their first EP/album thingie as their only truly impressive release tho, so I'll shut up XD) Edited March 31, 2017 by Jigsaw9 1 gekiai reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tokage 5930 Posted April 1, 2017 I've always felt like Plasticzooms are 100% a singles-only band, most of their albums so far haven't managed to leave a great impression on me, unfortunately.. 1 gekiai reacted to this Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
