Tokyo Jihen - Daihakken

[Guest]

THEY'RE BACK

東京事変 - [大発見 #01] 天国へようこそ -FOR THE DISC-

Shaking and crying doesn't begin to cover it. I love the original but this takes it to another level. Tribal-esque drumming, manjïrà/tala and a vocal drone. I don't think they've done this kind of arabic/egyptian sound before, but would love to hear more plus that guitar distortion from Uki combined with the hammond-esque organ and crash cymbals is gorgeous.

東京事変 - [大発見 #02] 絶対値対相対値

Wasn't liking the radio rip, but this is a bit better. Still not liking the faux death metal guitars at the start but Izawa's organ line is great. Eh.

東京事変 - [大発見 #03] 新しい文明開化

More like it - radio friendly pop-rock done well. The PV is pretty great too.

東京事変 - [大発見 #04] 電気のない都市

Izawa's earthquake tribute song is pretty but a little bit dull, probably better live.

東京事変 - [大発見 #05] 海底に巣くう男

What is this almost early 70's prog sound they've got going on. Absolutely perfect. Izawa's line sounds a bit like Variety, but not boring Variety.

東京事変 - [大発見 #06] 禁じられた遊び

One hell of an opening. Creepy, but liking it - the chord progression especially is pretty interesting.

東京事変 - [大発見 #07] ドーパミント!

Swing. A swing version of Dopamint. So fucking good, and well arranged too - bringing in the layers like that was pretty skillful.

東京事変 - [大発見 #08] 恐るべき大人達

Electric lounge and R'n'B? Sounds like a variety remnant was mixed with Adult. Loving it - even though the lyrics are pretty weak. As usual Izawa's jazz improv skills are showing HZM how it's done.

東京事変 - [大発見 #09] 21世紀宇宙の子

Pure Kameda. Unadulterated pop - it's a good version of senkou shoujo.

東京事変 - [大発見 #10] かつては男と女

The opening line is gorgeous (can't be the only one who hear's Debussy's La fille aux... in it) and it goes straight into another electric lounge/r'n'b number. They've really improved on this style since Sports - FAIR and Sweet Spot were terrible attempts at this sound.

東京事変 - [大発見 #11] 空が鳴っている

Pretty great single. Can hear why it's paired with 新しい文明開化.

東京事変 - [大発見 #12] 風に肖って行け

Lolwut. So much going on in this, but it all works. That has to be one of the weirdest guitar solos they've done though. And the lyrics are pretty weird too. "Fine masturbation" ? looking forward for a good translation to put that into context...

東京事変 - [大発見 #13] 女の子は誰でも

That was probably one of the worst song transitions in TJ history, but the song is one of their best Bsides. Pure Shiina showtune pop.

東京事変 - [大発見 #14] 天国へようこそ -FOR THE TUBE-

Love what they've done to this too. Much more emphatic and powerful than the single ver (and this makes version number 5...), don't remember the flute being in the original. Like it's addition.

9/10, one of the best albums of the year so far. But no surprises there.

[Jigsaw9 6783]

Pretty good album, although sometimes I felt it's a bit long in places, for my taste. But a nice listen.

[Furik 832]

Didn't like their fourth album. Not giving this a try.

[fitear1590 2414]

Wow, I had no real doubts that the album would be good, but it's nice to hear such a positive review from you herpes, haha.

(I know you've said some less-than-stellar things about their first album)

And I'm glad to hear they've improved their Sweet Spot-ish style songs. That was probably my least favorite from the otherwise awesome Sports. Anyway, gonna give it a listen now!

[Guest]

Didn't like their fourth album. Not giving this a try.

If you were a fan of their lounge style stuff in Adult, you'll like this though. It's more their second album than fourth.

Wow, I had no real doubts that the album would be good, but it's nice to hear such a positive review from you herpes, haha.

(I know you've said some less-than-stellar things about their first album)

And I'm glad to hear they've improved their Sweet Spot-ish style songs. That was probably my least favorite from the otherwise awesome Sports. Anyway, gonna give it a listen now!

Kyouiku? Urgh that album is such a mess, the production's terrible and dry plus that arrangement of ringo no uta? yuck. Likewise on Sweet Spot, that and FAIR made the second half of the album weak.

[Furik 832]

I will give it a try. Really enjoyed Kyouiku and Adult.

Some of Variety and Sports but their first two albums were solid.

[CAT5 9075]

I wish I was as enthused as Herpes right now, but the first listen left me a bit cold. The only real standout for me is track 8 so far - I love it when they get r&b-ish and funky (unlike herpes, I loved their song "FAIR" on the last album").

I'll have to revisit this album a bit later. It's a solid effort as always and definitely better than "variety", but it may have to do a bit growing on me.

[fitear1590 2414]

Dang, I hope you'll come around to it then, Cat!

As for me, I am absolutely loving this album.

The entire thing is solid to me, but my favorites are:

禁じられた遊び (dark opening, facking awesome chorus)

風に肖って行け (wtf? how the fuck is this so godly?)

恐るべき大人達 (I get into the beat a LOT on this one)

and 新しい文明開化. Such a great upbeat track!

All the previously released tracks are still fantastic, but kudos on the new versions of Tengoku and the swingy-Dopamint. So much better! 女の子は誰でも is still great as ever, despite the weird transition, as herpes mentioned. An entire SR album of that+ 都合のいい身体 type songs, please.

I relistened to ADULT after hearing this album and I had a newfound appreciation for it. That and this album are now tied for my favorites by Tokyo Jihen. Added Daihakken to my next CD order!

I'd say, only because of my slightly lower level of enthusiasm for 2 of ukigumo's tracks, this gets a 9.5/10

[Erin 19]

Way to perfect to be described. Only 絶対値対相対値, 電気のない都市 & かつては男と女 weren't as perfect, but still good and pretty listenable. And 夜明けのうた should have been included, at least as a BS.

[Guest]

edit: thanks Herpes, here's a more detailed review:

That was my face after listening to this album. I didn't care downloading the album until I saw this review topic. I saw - Herpes has made it - "OH NOES, there's gonna be a shitstorm" and what I see? U praising the album. So I go and think - "If the guy who criticizes everything likes this album so much, it must be stunning!!!" After listening my face was ("neutral"). I liked only 3 songs ("新しい文明開化"; "ドーパミント!" and "風に肖って行け" [which I liked a LOT and after who came an awkward track that completely didn't fit in] - ; ), the rest were quite mediocre. Also I dislike Ringo's voice and her english pronunciation.

[Guest]

^^^ - agree with errything you said.

^^ - yoake should've been on there instead of onna no... imo.

awesome review bro!

[tosinn 3]

Great album, I'm not disappointed at all! Instant favorites were Sora ga Natteiru, Atarashii Bunmeikaika, and 21 Seiki Uchuu no Ko. Fly Me to Heaven was pretty amazing, as well, but I don't think it's a song that I'd put on repeat. Hopefully the rest of the tracks will grow on me after giving the album a few more spins.

[Erin 19]

Some other thoughts I've had through the week:

-Can't help but dance when 恐るべき大人達 starts playing. Rejoice + be glad bitches.

-Can't decide which one is better, 天国へようこそ For The Disc or 天国へようこそ For The Disc. Now FTD ver. is something they've neved done before (which was insanely good), but FTT ver. got so deep into my almost non-existant core that I can't help but hesitating. Still, all 5 versions are awesome.

-絶対値対相対値 sounds like a fucking well-produced vocaloid song. Srsly, wtf Shiina. Nvm, we all make mistakes.

-禁じられた遊び is just plain Godlike. I just love every freaking part of it.

-OMFG 風に肖って行け what the hell is this song. 2 good 2 be listened by mortals.

-Singles sound as refreshing as they used to.

-女の子は誰でも I feel like my grandma when listening to this. When she could still dance of course.

Album of the year dah.

[Mysterion 0]

Hi, everyone. I just joined this discussion forum a minute ago, but am so excited to see that there is a thread about Tokyo Jihen's new album already. Here's a piece of my thought to share with you all:

http://divadamrau.blogspot.com/2011/08/ ... scopic.htm

Needless to say, I have barely even scratched its surface. So any input is appreciated. Thanks in advance!