02. Fukurou no Yurikago
03. Nuritsubusunara Enji
04. Fuzz
05. Game
06. Flight -Album Version-
07. Anjelier
08. Chiissana Mado
09. Semishigure
10. Shion
11. Sorawasure
12. Shiva
13. Libra - Album Version-
I jest, I jest. I've actually listened to most of this album - just not all in one sit. Shion is pretty thick to get into and if you like it all on the first listen there's obviously something wrong with you because this album needs to grow on you. Like fine wine, good cheese and yours truly, this needs time to grow on you for you to begin to truly appreciate it.
That doesn't mean there are parts of this album that blow more than others. We'll get to those in due time.
With that said, Suion isn't one of them. It's actually one of the album intros worth listening to because Miya took a risk and put a lot of thought into it. The puddle sounds and continuous repetition are great for starting out the album out and it builds up from really simple to...not so simple. It's also the perfect length and doesn't become dull with subsequent listens. Go interesting introduction!
MUCC usually puts their strongest offerings right up at the beginning of the album, so I'm not surprised that Fukurou no Yurikago is solid. I actually expected it to be considering that in most MUCC albums the memorable songs come first or early on (Zetsubou, Bouzenjishitsu & Ware, Arubeki Basho) Fukurou no Yurikago wastes no time in getting the album started, since I don't know many people that would consider water dropping into a bucket "music". Every review out there says that this album channels "Middle-Eastern" themes and as much as I would like to be an ass and disagree I can't get the image of Aladdin flying on a rug out of my head when I listen to this song. That means Fukurou no Yurikago does sound like it borrows elements from Indian music and culture and it comes packaged with a chorus that actually does it's JOB (i.e. making the song better) so when it's repeated what would normally annoy me actually sounds epic. The fact that this song moves into Nuritsubusunara Enji smoothly only helps to add up the points even more. It's definitely worth a listen.
For some people, this mass experimentation with styles is bound to start pissing them off...now.
Nuritsubusunara Enji is a sampling of the hard, screamy MUCC from the older days mixed with some of their new influences but the piercing yells and the punk metal riffs loses steam at the chorus. In fact, the chorus is the entire low part of the song because everything else is so much better than it and the transition to it is choppy. It also feels weird coming after the soaring rock number that was Fukurou no Yurikago because the transition is not doing this song any favors. One final comment about this song is on the length because I feel that it runs on for a minute too long and the energy dissipates after the awesome solo at the three minute mark. What Nuritsubusunara Enji has going for it is raw, pulsating energy and a cleaner ending than Fukurou no Yurikago. Tatsurou's growls and screams have also improved dramatically and are pretty solid. The fade out on the guitars mixes with the intro to Fuzz cleanly and leaves this song feeling decent at worst.
If you don't like Fuzz then I cannot help you. You also might want to stop listening to this album while you're at it. Fuzz is 4:54 of win and unlike most other electronica songs it doesn't suffer from monotony. There are breakdowns every half a minute, a thick contrabass current thanks to Yukke (he can be seen playing it in the PV), and a semblance of the badass rock attitude that I expect out of every band. The acoustic strums in the first verse are also pretty fucking sweet and the touches with the harmonica take some getting used to but personally I can't see how the song would be the same without it. What I could go without are the reverb on Tatsurou's voice: it's slight at most but it does get annoying after a lot of listens. About Tatsurou's voice: it fits well into this song and it's good to see MUCC playing to his strengths instead of mashing along and forcing him to keep pace (which they incidentally do at some point later on in this album).
Game continues the genre-bending game with a thick, soaring track that combines the elements of dark and heavy without necessarily considering the two synonymous. Tatsurou's voice once again channels some Middle-Eastern influences in the verses and the way the two guitars complement each other under Yukke's bass leads to the song feeling rich with tension. I'd venture to say the best part of the song is when Miya's strumming the guitar alone before Yukke and Satochi come in with their respective instruments and have the entire song regurgitate awesome into your eardrums. The fact that MUCC decides to explode at the halfway mark and then keeps the tension throughout shows that they're not in this album to replicate what all the other bands do. They're here to do their own things and even if they sample some inspiration somewhere else they still keep it MUCC at the core.
Flight was re-recorded for Shion but this pop trash still burns in my eardrums. The good thing to this song is that it's placed right after Game to pick you up but it excels at that job and then comes off as obnoxiously happy. That irritates me to no end. For once Satochi lays off the long cymbal lines and focuses more on the rhythm and Miya's guitar is cleaner throughout. I'm not a fan of songs that sound like anime themes (and this one does) so I often give it a pass. If you like happy, upbeat songs check this one out. Then again, what the hell are you doing reading this?
ROLLER DISCO BABY! Anjelier contains the same ingredient of unnecessary upbeat sounds but what makes this song ultimately enjoyable is that it's not afraid to abandon that sound for segments at a time. The way it switches atmosphere so quickly by inserting a synthesizer here or dropping down a note there makes the song less standard and more subject to repeat listens. I'm wondering if Miya composed this just to piss Tatsurou off because the notes that he has to climb at the chorus strain his voice to the limit and I'm afraid to hear him sing this live. HOWEVER...I do have to wonder what the hell a disco anthem is doing in the middle of the album and I also have to wonder WHY MUCC chose to do disco in the first place. They did fine but Anjelier doesn't fit here.
Another ballad already? Yeah, Chiisana Mado is another ballad and it's inevitably going to be compared to Game since it follows on it's heels rather quickly. Don't even try because the two sound so different a comparison isn't going to get you anywhere. It's passionate without being overly dark and it incorporates some nice strings and some ethereal guitar strumming along with a stunning solo section complete with a piano and some acoustic guitars. Yukke threw in the entire kitchen sink composing this one and this is easily the most majestic song on Shion. Despite that it sticks closer to the album's core sound than you might think.
Semishigure irritates my eardrums at the beginning but other than that it doesn't sound much different than from when it was released on "MUCC LIVE BOOTLEG #2" in 2006. (then titled "Gokusai Part1 ~RARE TRACK~). I still don't understand why MUCC had to fuck that part up because it pierces my eardrums and it honestly hurts after repeatedly listening to it. It channels some of the atmosphere from the last track while sounding a little like Nuritsubusunara Enji and that creates another track that sounds alright but doesn't stand out too much. Tatsurou's voice remains in control here and he doesn't sound like he's straining himself here. If nothing else this sounds like a warm-up to the next track, bridging the gap between a majestic ballad and a heavy number with punkish rhythms and solid singing. Semishigure doesn't blow me away but it doesn't suck either.
The self-titled track Shion doesn't let down and in some ways sounds like the culmination of what the entire album wants to be. MUCC keeps it interesting throughout the entire five minutes and is full of singing, chanting, falsetto, and screaming along with quiet portions juxtaposed with brutal riffs and oppressive drums. Shion has so much going on that it takes more than a few listens to grasp everything that was put into this track. Some things going on in this track are so subliminal that they lend to the mood without you even noticing it. One such passage is when the track slows down into some bongos while Satochi's drums slowly speed up creating a sense of tension that explodes right back into the chorus. Tatsurou also throws in some duetting falsettos that are almost inaudible if you're not listening for them and there's a riff section going on in the chorus that I almost didn't notice the first time around. Tatsurou brandishes some death vocals on us don't translate well with the overdone chorus but do better at the slowdown which is dragged out a little too long. Other than that Shion is nothing less than mindblowing.
Sorawasure feels like it was placed here to wind the listener down from Shion. Tatsurou jumps right into the verses which is a bit different than from what I'm used to hearing and the chorus isn't too jarring. The slowdown was a little too typical but that's not too bad. Nothing about this song is pushed to the limits and because they keep the song simple while adding in slight changes to the typical formula and adding neat additions like the acoustic/string and the solo solidifies this as one of their more creative songs. I'm glad to see that they manage to keep the album going with another good song after something great like Shion. It shows you get your money's worth when you buy an MUCC album.
Shiva is that song that's going to make me eat my words. I hate Shiva with a passion. It starts out with what sounds like a speed metal riff and it keeps the deception going for a good 20 seconds before it evolves into some unlistenable pop-punk every other fucking genre under the sun shit. It tries to bring back the attitude later but that's about as believable as Barney busting into some gangster rap about friendship. This and Yasashii Uta are two songs that I could see them ending a tour with but I'm glad the album didn't end off with this. It's disappointing whe I get ready to mosh and I can't because it breaks out into a treehouse anthem. Skip.
Libra is heaven to my ears after sitting through Shiva. MUCC shows that they can be deep and sinister without having to resort to primordial screaming for five minutes on end and that showed with the transition between dark Tatsurou and the blasting guitar portions. The chorus takes away from the gothic and creepy atmosphere that the song is mostly made up of but other than that Libra does a good job of ending the album off, even with the unnecessary silence at the end of it.
In a change of pace (and because I see it pointless to review the singles for this album after this), I've placed reviews for all the singles for this album underneath (excluding the title tracks of course). Perhaps starting now will help to alleviate the "scroll syndrome" I envision having in a month or two.
The only song to talk about here is Touei. It's nowhere near as strong as Libra and actually comes off as a leftover track that could have been sandwiched in easily on Gokusai. It provides a nice contrast to Libra but if it's left to stand on it's own two feet I honestly doubt that Touei could leave much of an impression on the listener. It's got a few interesting passages but nothing that really grabs your attention overall. It's not a bad song but it's not an assertive one either so that's probably why it's delegated to the lone B-side position on this single. MUCC has created better than this and they know it.
Recommended:
Libra
Score: 70%
01. Fuzz
02. Chain Ring
03. Mae e (live)
04. Fuzz Electro Cruisin' Remix
The third track is a live track which automatically means that without visual accompaniment it sucks. Mae e doesn't come with visual accompaniment but it does have a few nice touches like Tatsurou's harmonica portion, crowd interaction and an elongated solo section. I do believe that MUCC put this here for a reason. Even though Mae e was released back on Homura Uta and Fuzz was released on Shion there's a similar feeling both songs give that show that MUCC hasn't really changed all that much with their sound so to speak. Mae e very similar to Chain Ring was well. Compared to other lives I've heard this doesn't sound too bad vocally or instrumentally so if you don't have Homura Uta this is a good song showing you what some parts of it sounded like.
Barring some odd rhythmic patterns and the obvious effects that the remix had on the song, Fuzz electro cruisin' remix doesn't sound too different from the title track. The reverb on the voice is more noticeable but it sticks out less like a sore thumb here. What sticks out more and annoys me to no end here is Tatsurou's "whoas" in the chorus. I miss the acoustic guitar in the first verse and the punch that Yukke's contrabass had on the song in the verses so this remix pales in comparison to the title track. It still was an honest effort at trying to do something different and it didn't really fail too much. It just didn't live up to the standards set by the first track.
Recommended:
Fuzz
Chain Ring
Score: 77%
01. Flight
02. Kanashii Hanashi
03. Libra (Live)
04. Yasashii Uta (Live)
Live, Libra lacks the punch that studio recording and mastering has in the way of the instruments. MUCC can't replicate all the little fancy touches that they have on the album so it's rather straightforward with some S.E. support in the background to make the song sounds somewhat like the recording on the single. I do have to mention that there are some frills here and there that remind you that this is live and they do like to take some spins on their music and the way the song ends off is smoother than the ones they've recorded for sale. Tatsurou's voice is also in prime form and for a live recording his voice is excellent.
And last in this super-spree of reviews we have...an eleven minute live recording of Yasashii Uta. Perhaps an explanation as to why it's over twice as long as the original recording is that it's the last song in a live tour in Germany (Tats says so himself in broken English at the beginning) but it really overstays it's welcome seven minutes in when all I have to hear are "lalalala" over and over again. I'm actually happy this song ended because if you're not in the moment at the concert you're not up for hearing an 11 minute track that has been condensed into a listenable 5:13 beforehand. I think the main reason this was included was because it shares similarities to Flight but it would have been nice if it was short and to the point.
Recommended:
Kanashii Hanashi
Score: 60%
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