 SHISHAMO is an indie rock band formed in 2010, who released their first official album ("SHISHAMO") just three years ago. I actually missed out on their second album, "SHISHAMO 2", when it came out last year, but that takes us to..."SHISHAMO 3" which, as you can probably guess, is the band's third album. As a big fan of their debut album, I was excited to pick up this new record. I was not disappointed.  "SHISHAMO 3" opens up with a soft and gentle intro to "Gomen ne Koigokoro", an otherwise fast and compelling opener. It's a little bit on the longer side, but I don't mind that in the least. The band keeps the energy up for the next few songs, including "Ikiru Girl". This is easily one of my favorite songs on the album, being super punky, catchy, and to-the-point. The album slows down with the beautiful acoustic "Egao no Tonari", and the incredible "Tenohira no Uchuu". In fact, the entire mid-section of the album is a bit down-tempo. There is the bouncy "Suitei Idou Kyori", though, which I love. Not that I dislike the slow songs; some of them are actually exceptionally good.
The energy doesn't really pick back up until the last couple tracks on the album. "Kimi to Gerende" is another personal favorite, with a great melody and some pretty fun riffs. The closing song, "Minna no Uta", delves slightly into ska territory, with some backing horns. In keeping with the theme of the album, it's also an amazing song. As you might have noticed by my review, there are a lot of amazing songs on this album to be honest. It's really hard to find anything bad to say here, and I don't see any reason why I should anyway. SHISHAMO is a band just starting to hit their peak, and I'm hoping it's a peak that lasts for a long time. The songs on "SHISHAMO 3" are among the best music I've heard so far this year. Vocalist Asako Miyazaki has one of my favorite voices in rock music, and the band as a whole are so talented, I think it might actually be impossible to dislike them. Please listen to this album, I don't think you'll be disappointed. Favorites: Gomen ne Koigokoro, Ikiru Gal, Egao no Tonari, Tenohira no Uchuu, Suitei Idou Kyori, Kimi to Gerende, Minna no Uta Tracklist 1) Gomen ne, Koigokoro 2) Nakaniwa no Shoujo-tachi 3) Ikiru Girl 4) Egao no Tonari 5) Tenohira no Uchuu 6) Suitei Idou Kyori 7) Onnagokoro 8) Nettaiya 9) Tabi ga Eri 10) Kimi to Gerende 11) Minna no Uta -Justin SHISHAMO Is: Miyazaki Asako – Vocals, Guitar Matsuoka Aya – Bass Yoshikawa Misaki – Drums For More Information: Website: http://shishamo.biz/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SHISHAMO_BAND YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/shishamoofficial
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 SCANDAL is a rock band formed in 2006 by a group of high school girls. They've been together ever since without a single lineup change, gaining international fame for their punk-inspired pop rock. "YELLOW" is their latest album, and it's actually the longest wait in between SCANDAL albums there has ever been (not that it really means a lot in this situation). From 2009-2014 SCANDAL had an album come out every single year, making this the first time there's been a two-year gap. Not exactly that long, but something to note anyhow.  "YELLOW" starts with a so-so instrumental song, but the second song, "Stamp!", is where things start getting good. Upbeat and feel-good all the way through, it's a great way to introduce the album. It ends with the repeated line "Everything's gonna be alright, everything's gonna be okay". This is already shaping up to be the brightest album of the year. Track 5, "Sunday Drive", is super bouncy. It reminds me of something Shonen Knife might do. "Konya wa Pizza Party" is really catchy with semi-hyper, idol-esque vocals and a fantastic melody. There's only two points where the pop punk takes a break; for the aptly-titled love song, "LOVE", and the second-to-last song "Chisa na Honou". They're both pretty good songs, but maybe not my favorites. The album ends with an English version of "Your song", an extremely upbeat pop song song which once again calls back to Shonen Knife, or even The Ramones. It's pretty fun. In fact, "YELLOW" is a pretty fun album overall. It's a nice change of pace, as there's a lot of much tonally darker music being released this year. -Justin Favorites: Stamp!, Konya wa Pizza Party, Happy Birthday, Your song SCANDAL Is: HARUNA – Vocals, Guitar MAMI – Guitar, Vocals TOMOMI – Bass, Vocals RINA – Drums, Vocals For More Information: Website: http://www.scandal-4.com/ Blog: http://ameblo.jp/scandalblog-4/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/scandal_band Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/scandalofficial YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRgOqI54g1VqnQnwIB6WPSA SCANDAL - LOVE ME DO MV (Short Version) 
Legendary drone metal band Boris is on the verge of two (!!!) releases this year, including a collaboration with Merzbow and a tribute to Motorhead's Lemmy. Last year at Leave Them All Behind festival, they debuted a new song called "More". Now that there's an official live video, those of us who DON'T live in Tokyo can finally hear the song.
"More" builds on the style Boris has been toying with for a few years now, being a cleaner form of their heavy metal side. Taking cues from the other side of their discography, though, we get some pretty thick noise elements, especially near the end of the song. This song would have fit in perfectly on their 2014 album "Noise", or maybe even the 2011 version of "Heavy Rocks". The first thing you'll notice is that this is a new Boris song with vocals! Unlike the trio of instrumental drone albums they released last year, it sounds like they're moving towards a new commercial release ("More" isn't listed on either of the announced releases thus far). I would love a new full-length album of new material, so let's keep our fingers crossed. As for "More", it's a great song. It starts off with a light intro, but leaps into Boris' signature sludge metal. With the soaring vocals Takeshi is known for, "More" reminds me quite a bit of songs like "Quicksilver" or "Vanilla". The song builds up, getting more massive by the second. When the feedback comes in, it's the perfect moment. I can only imagine what the audience must have been feeling. The song ends with a bang, and I swear this is the best Boris song I've heard in a long time. They may never live up to the pinnacle of modern metal that was "Pink", but I think Boris has a lot more to say. I can't wait for the many, many things they'll be dropping on us this year. -Justin Boris Is: Atsuo - Drums, Vocal Wata - Guitar Takeshi - Bass, Vocal For More Information: Website: http://homepage1.nifty.com/boris/top.html Boris - More (Live)
Boris “More” from The Wire Magazine on Vimeo. |
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