I've been meaning to make an entry in this at some point in time. And I figured I should go ahead and open up with the awesomeness that are the CDs I imported from Japan. Now you can call me a geek or whatever and tell me that it was a waste of my money and I won't care. I'm actually ridiculously happy with the purchase.
I bought two versions of the new ムック (MUCC) CD 球体 (Kyutai - Sphere). I bought the Limited Edition A version which included the concert footage of their show in Irving Plaza in NYC. A show I had gone to with my significant other of course. And it was possibly, no it actually was. It was the best concert I've been to in my life thus far. (And that's saying something because I've seen a lot of bands in Concert!)
Well anyways back on point. I also purchased Limited Edition B Version. And that one came with a documentary of ムック during 2008. And it had some incredibly hilarious moments as it was funny to see them interacting with some of the American Bands they were touring with in Japan. It also had clips from the time they spent working on the new CD, from being in the studio filming the video for アゲハ (Ageha) to working with Ken from L'arc~en~Ciel (in my opinion the greatest band in the world!!!) on the latest single released before the album 空と糸 (Sora to Ito). Both singles were directed by Ken, and in my opinion on the album, they are probably the best ones.
So of course I have to go into the album itself, because really that's the best part of buying both editions. It starts off with the typical MUCC opening, an instrumental titled 球体 -instrumental- (Kyutai -Instrumental-) that does a good job of setting up the album. I'm a fan of the rhythm at the very least.
Track 2 咆哮 (Houkou - Howling) is the typical MUCC song nearly. A clever mix of quick guitars and drums coupled with Tatsurou's amazing vocals. Not that Miya and the others don't succeed in having good use of their voices as well of course.
The third song is of course アゲハ (Ageha) which I already raved about being one of the best songs on the album. I already loved MUCC before this single came out, and I got it on an impulse to see what new stuff they were going to have after being on tour. When I heard Ken from L'Arc~en~Ciel helped them out with this one. Sadly I fell in love. What really stuck the song in my head as one of their best songs, was the way they managed to perform it live in NYC. And if you get the Limited Edition A you can watch the collection of performance that made my girlfriend really enjoy the show.
The fourth song is actually interesting. It tries to capture the same concept of a song building into the chorus like アゲハ does. But ハイドアンドシーク (Hide and Seek) doesn't entirely fail in this. The almost video game sounding background beats coupled with Tatsurou are nice and the way the others join in in the chorus is nice. It's catchy, and it ends up being one of my favorite songs off the album that wasn't a single.
陽炎 (Kagero - Heat Devil) is the fifth track. One of my only kinda complaints about the album is the amount of ballads you'll find on it. Now don't get me wrong, Tatsurou's voice is really nice in practically all of them. And they're still catchy in their own way. They just lack the staying power of some of the other tracks and mostly because it's hard to recall anything outside of Tatsurou's vocals. That's just my opinion. But regardless it's a wonderful song.
My favorite number, but not necessarily my favorite track. レミング (Lemming) switches back to the ムック we know and love. It has the vocals and the quick music to go with it. Switching from soft and rapid lyrics to a powerful chorus that pulls Tatsurou's voice to end up louder as the song peaks. And Miya's solo in this song is actually memorable! Overall this song was a wonderful composition.
I did not like the seventh track オズ (Oz) at all. I fell like it's trying too hard to capture the success they had before with their electronic success ファズ (FUZZ). While the guitar is kinda catchy, everything else is forgettable. And overall it's just a bad follow-up to the success they had on 志恩 (Shion) with the electronic inspired dance music.
浮游 (Fuyu - Flotage) thankfully redeems them. It's once again a ballad. And despite that it still has it's own staying power. And they're getting good at picking up at the Chorus. Mostly Tatsurou's voice is getting good at rising and falling as the song calls for it. And I'm not positive, but there is a harmonica sounding segment. I'm not sure it if really is a harmonica because Tatsurou returns to singing quickly afterwards. But it's still a nice addition to another beautifully composed song.
讃美歌 (Sanbika - Hymn) finds itself as the ninth track. And the very beginning eerily remins me of the beginning of Hotel California by the Eagles. Which might be why at first I had to replay it to make sure I wasn't being crazy. And sadly it's an example of a ballad on the CD that didn't succeed too well. Tatsurou's voice ends up sounding too high and too strained at some point. And the guitar just plainly dominates the entire track, which it really shouldn't have done.
Finally! Track 10 happens to be my favorite song off the album, and I fell in love with it when it became the single prior to the release of the album. 空と糸 (Sora to Ito) is catchy in all the right places and once again a song Ken from L'Arc~en~Ciel assisted them with. Just like アゲハ it has moments where Tatsurou's voice is distorted. Which when played live still sounds wonderful. But the distorted vocals is abused a lot and fits the sad song. And when they were interviewed about the meaning of the song, they were right in being afraid it's meaning would get lost nearly in translation. Everything on this track screams of the influences they grabbed from being on tour in 2008. From the guitar riffs to the drums to even Tatsurou's vocals. All cleverly transformed to sound like a ムック song. Although I will admit, the solo sounds a lot like the Power Ranger's theme. (My brother the forever critic on these things pointed it out during a car ride in blizzard.)
I do not like hanabi at first. (no characters for this one, it's plainly written in letters on the album). Someone is playing the piano and the guitar plays a few notes here and there. I have nothing against the vocals really. It's just the music is way too soft and too foreign sounding to be a ムック song. It's almost like they're trying too hard to make a soft ballad. And about halfway through the song it finally picks up. And thankfully sounds like them again. And it ends up being a good tie up for the album. Because it's a combination of what ended up being the album, a good chunk of ballads mixed with catchy rhythm's. Almost kinda reminds me of Dir en Grey's epic Vinushka from the Uroboros album. Only softer and less dramatic, which works for ムック.
Overall I'd give the album 4 out of 5 stars. It had a couple small problems with it, but it still succeeds in my heart as an amazing album. I can only hope that it does really well in Japan..
And I'd love to see them come back and play live again, who knows. Maybe they can bring life into some of their duller songs when it's live?
Anyone else have an opinion?
I bought two versions of the new ムック (MUCC) CD 球体 (Kyutai - Sphere). I bought the Limited Edition A version which included the concert footage of their show in Irving Plaza in NYC. A show I had gone to with my significant other of course. And it was possibly, no it actually was. It was the best concert I've been to in my life thus far. (And that's saying something because I've seen a lot of bands in Concert!)
Well anyways back on point. I also purchased Limited Edition B Version. And that one came with a documentary of ムック during 2008. And it had some incredibly hilarious moments as it was funny to see them interacting with some of the American Bands they were touring with in Japan. It also had clips from the time they spent working on the new CD, from being in the studio filming the video for アゲハ (Ageha) to working with Ken from L'arc~en~Ciel (in my opinion the greatest band in the world!!!) on the latest single released before the album 空と糸 (Sora to Ito). Both singles were directed by Ken, and in my opinion on the album, they are probably the best ones.
So of course I have to go into the album itself, because really that's the best part of buying both editions. It starts off with the typical MUCC opening, an instrumental titled 球体 -instrumental- (Kyutai -Instrumental-) that does a good job of setting up the album. I'm a fan of the rhythm at the very least.
Track 2 咆哮 (Houkou - Howling) is the typical MUCC song nearly. A clever mix of quick guitars and drums coupled with Tatsurou's amazing vocals. Not that Miya and the others don't succeed in having good use of their voices as well of course.
The third song is of course アゲハ (Ageha) which I already raved about being one of the best songs on the album. I already loved MUCC before this single came out, and I got it on an impulse to see what new stuff they were going to have after being on tour. When I heard Ken from L'Arc~en~Ciel helped them out with this one. Sadly I fell in love. What really stuck the song in my head as one of their best songs, was the way they managed to perform it live in NYC. And if you get the Limited Edition A you can watch the collection of performance that made my girlfriend really enjoy the show.
The fourth song is actually interesting. It tries to capture the same concept of a song building into the chorus like アゲハ does. But ハイドアンドシーク (Hide and Seek) doesn't entirely fail in this. The almost video game sounding background beats coupled with Tatsurou are nice and the way the others join in in the chorus is nice. It's catchy, and it ends up being one of my favorite songs off the album that wasn't a single.
陽炎 (Kagero - Heat Devil) is the fifth track. One of my only kinda complaints about the album is the amount of ballads you'll find on it. Now don't get me wrong, Tatsurou's voice is really nice in practically all of them. And they're still catchy in their own way. They just lack the staying power of some of the other tracks and mostly because it's hard to recall anything outside of Tatsurou's vocals. That's just my opinion. But regardless it's a wonderful song.
My favorite number, but not necessarily my favorite track. レミング (Lemming) switches back to the ムック we know and love. It has the vocals and the quick music to go with it. Switching from soft and rapid lyrics to a powerful chorus that pulls Tatsurou's voice to end up louder as the song peaks. And Miya's solo in this song is actually memorable! Overall this song was a wonderful composition.
I did not like the seventh track オズ (Oz) at all. I fell like it's trying too hard to capture the success they had before with their electronic success ファズ (FUZZ). While the guitar is kinda catchy, everything else is forgettable. And overall it's just a bad follow-up to the success they had on 志恩 (Shion) with the electronic inspired dance music.
浮游 (Fuyu - Flotage) thankfully redeems them. It's once again a ballad. And despite that it still has it's own staying power. And they're getting good at picking up at the Chorus. Mostly Tatsurou's voice is getting good at rising and falling as the song calls for it. And I'm not positive, but there is a harmonica sounding segment. I'm not sure it if really is a harmonica because Tatsurou returns to singing quickly afterwards. But it's still a nice addition to another beautifully composed song.
讃美歌 (Sanbika - Hymn) finds itself as the ninth track. And the very beginning eerily remins me of the beginning of Hotel California by the Eagles. Which might be why at first I had to replay it to make sure I wasn't being crazy. And sadly it's an example of a ballad on the CD that didn't succeed too well. Tatsurou's voice ends up sounding too high and too strained at some point. And the guitar just plainly dominates the entire track, which it really shouldn't have done.
Finally! Track 10 happens to be my favorite song off the album, and I fell in love with it when it became the single prior to the release of the album. 空と糸 (Sora to Ito) is catchy in all the right places and once again a song Ken from L'Arc~en~Ciel assisted them with. Just like アゲハ it has moments where Tatsurou's voice is distorted. Which when played live still sounds wonderful. But the distorted vocals is abused a lot and fits the sad song. And when they were interviewed about the meaning of the song, they were right in being afraid it's meaning would get lost nearly in translation. Everything on this track screams of the influences they grabbed from being on tour in 2008. From the guitar riffs to the drums to even Tatsurou's vocals. All cleverly transformed to sound like a ムック song. Although I will admit, the solo sounds a lot like the Power Ranger's theme. (My brother the forever critic on these things pointed it out during a car ride in blizzard.)
I do not like hanabi at first. (no characters for this one, it's plainly written in letters on the album). Someone is playing the piano and the guitar plays a few notes here and there. I have nothing against the vocals really. It's just the music is way too soft and too foreign sounding to be a ムック song. It's almost like they're trying too hard to make a soft ballad. And about halfway through the song it finally picks up. And thankfully sounds like them again. And it ends up being a good tie up for the album. Because it's a combination of what ended up being the album, a good chunk of ballads mixed with catchy rhythm's. Almost kinda reminds me of Dir en Grey's epic Vinushka from the Uroboros album. Only softer and less dramatic, which works for ムック.
Overall I'd give the album 4 out of 5 stars. It had a couple small problems with it, but it still succeeds in my heart as an amazing album. I can only hope that it does really well in Japan..
And I'd love to see them come back and play live again, who knows. Maybe they can bring life into some of their duller songs when it's live?
Anyone else have an opinion?
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