REVIEW: James Presents: 30 Best Albums of 2013 Part 3

It was an important year for Visual-Kei - international Visual-Kei, hiatuses, disbandments, and an array of great albums. But, which ones were the best? Which albums will have effects on the Visual-Kei scene? Join James as he looks back on the past year, and picks the best albums of 2013, in three installments. 

First off, I want to reiterate what I said last year – I have excluded some albums from this list, even though they are great. Visual-Kei is a largely indie genre, and as such, many bands get little publicity and releases are overlooked. Of course we all know about releases from storied artists like miyavi and the GazettE – and we also know those releases are good. Here, I want to give a space to lesser-known artists who also did a great job. In this list, I may include some well known artists’ albums, but because I see those releases as having an impact beyond simply being a well-known artist’s new release. I hope you enjoy reading this list as much as I enjoyed putting it together.
For Part 1  (#30-#21), click here
For Part 2  (#20-#11), click here




10. R-Shitei – VISUAL IS DEAD



            The joke that R-Shitei played on fans with the revealing of a fake tracklist may have been not just the best trolling of the year, but that I can remember in Visual-Kei. For the unfamiliar, R-Shitei revealed a fake tracklist full of happy, upbeat songs for their new album, only to release a teaser for the title track of “VISUAL IS DEAD” and the real tracklist a few days later. Needless to say, there was a significant difference in that “VISUAL IS DEAD” is a darker album than the fake one.
            The album opens with the title track, which is the hardest I can ever remember hearing R-Shitei. The album then switches into a more characteristic R-Shitei with a sort of groovy melody and rock tone. The album hit its stride with the next track, “Last Rain”, when R-Shitei’s rock side begins to show along with the complex compositions that have won them fame. The album makes use of a variety of instruments atypical to rock, namely keyboards, and everything from accordions to traditional Japanese instruments. The album doesn’t necessarily flow as well as some others on the list likely due to it being so single heavy and also it doesn’t seem like the band even tried that much. The tracks here are all excellent, however.
            R-Shitei perhaps had a more unified theme with “Nihonchinbotsu”, but they have a better all around album here. This is the longest album on this year’s list, with a whooping seventeen tracks. Almost all are good, even if there is some lack of unity at times. R-Shitei experiments with sound throughout this album, and it works.

KEY TRACKS: “VISUAL IS DEAD”, “Seishun wa Wrist-Cut”, “Aikoku Revolution”, “飴玉”, “Slow Days”, “Closet Girl”, “Sekai no Owari”

9. DIV – ZERO ONE

            One of my biggest fears in life was not whether or not this album was going to be good (I did worry about that a bit), but if there will come a time when people will no longer remember the hilarity of Chisa’s eye contacts in the “Natsu no Yukue” music video. Ultimately, I have some waiting to do on that one yet. DIV is probably one of the better things to happen regarding xTRiPx in some years (the main impetus for founding DIV was two members of xTRiPx branching off), although it has quite a different sound, much like when kannivalism branched off of baroque. This album takes a crack at combining DIV’s happy and upbeat side (“Taste of Life”) with a more serious, heavier side (“VANISH”). For the most part, it works swimmingly, and is one of the better albums of the years that forgoes the truly heavy side of Visual-Kei.
            The album begins with “VANISH” which is perhaps the heaviest track you will have heard from DIV yet when it comes on the speakers. The album then moves into “ZERO ONE”, which sounds reminiscent of more standard DIV fare, but with a level of polish absent prior. The guitars are layered on this track to create a very nice atmosphere along with some programming. The album then moves into the single, “Natsu no Yukue”, which just as when it came out a year ago, is a fun number. The album then plays a number of tracks that are more of a departure from before, using more experimental sounds for the bands such as heavier reliance on programming or funkier bass (“ASTERIOS” is particularly different and uses a lot of programming). This being said, the band never takes too many risks, and the ones they do overwhelmingly pay off.
            With the seventh track, “Teddy”, the band showcases three of the best non-single tracks on the album (“Teddy”, “Chocolate Prayer”, “Place”), which sound similar to the level of polish on “ZERO ONE”, with a similar level of depth. These three tracks have varied sounds, and stand apart from the rest of the album as a particularly noteworthy stretch. Following this, the album closes with some other solid tracks and the remaining singles.
            DIV has crafted a very fine first  album here. They take a number of chances on new sounds, along with building upon what got them fame up to this point. The album is like a deeper, more polished version of the DIV we have been hearing, and if that has been working out for you, I would encourage you to check out this album.

KEY TRACKS: “VANISH”, “ZERO ONE”, “Natsu no Yukue”, “Teddy”, “Chocolate Prayer”, “Place”, “ANSWER”

8. D=OUT – Kabuki Disco

            Perhaps PSC feels a need to have a band that wears kimonos to some degree and mixes Japanese instruments in with their music also on hand at any time. Or maybe, D=OUT thought of this change entirely on themselves. Whatever the case, it was unexpected, and even more surprisingly, it works. This album shows off the best that the band has ever sounded with a winning concept.
            The album kicks off with the title track, an upbeat number that will likely get stuck in your head for weeks. Like the title suggests, it has a certain dance vibe to it, but stays firmly grounded in rock with the best bass playing that has ever happened on a D=OUT record, and great guitar. The next track “Killer Tune” is an aggressive track that mixes in the upbeat dance feel from “Kabuki Disco”. This being said, the song is far more of a rock tune. The album returns to a more dance feel, and definitely 1970-1980s inspired one for “Chuukyori Renai”. Overall, the album follows a pace set by the first two tracks, which is to say varying integration of upbeat dance feel, traditional Japanese instruments, and a rock side of D=OUT.
            This is certainly the most upbeat album on the list, and D=OUT makes it work. The album is filled with tracks more addictive than potato chips, and is D=OUT’s best work. The album succeeds in many different levels, whether it is the usage of traditional instruments, dance vibes from the disco floor, or the career-best instrumentation and vocals. This album is the best of the year in terms of having a theme, and basing every composition on the album off of it. Every track flows into each other, and while every track on the album stands out, it also works as a singular whole enormously well.

KEY TRACKS: “Kabuki Disco”, “Chuukyori Renai”, “High Collar”, “T.S.G”

7. EAT YOU ALIVE – Apocalypsis

EAT YOU ALIVE, in some ways, singlehandedly showed us Nagoya-Kei, and by that I mean what Kuroyume started in the 1990s, wasn’t dead. They burst on to the scene with their first album, “The world is mine” in 2011 after a number of years underground, and having evolved out of the defunct band, maveRICK. “The world is mine” was Nagoya-Kei in every sense – the band was unabashedly based in Nagoya (unlike many others who migrate to Tokyo), and wore clean, yet edgy style. The instrumentation was top-notch, and Hiro’s vocals were equal parts half-rap, soaring during the choruses, and some of the best screams and growls anyone has ever done in Visual-Kei. The band never had any member changes or showed signs of stopping, until they announced they would be disbanding early in 2013 out of the left-field. Yet, before bowing out, they released “Apocalypsis”, and not their best release (which isn’t saying much considering how phenomenal “The world is mine” and “Catedral” were), it is the most impressive Nagoya-Kei album of the year, and will likely appear at the end of this decade as one of the best Nagoya-Kei, and also in general Visual-Kei, albums to be released.

The album is in many ways what you would expect from EYA – polished beyond belief, and expertly executed violent moments. Just like “The world is mine” and “Catedral” before it, “Apocalypsis” is full of tracks different from each other, but that are sequenced and designed in a way that they spill right into each other, and makes one want to listen to the entire album upon listening to a single track. The album, more than any other on this list, excels as a singular work of art, and is best taken in as a whole – not that the tracks are weak individually. This album is also noteworthy in that it shows an EYA more comfortable with their diverse range of sound, with a  number of less-aggressive, rocking tracks than previous albums. This does mean that potential listeners will need to be prepared to hear an evolved EYA, and not the same one we heard on “Catedral”. A number of slow tracks give this album a depth that “Catedral” lacked, although the album lacks numbers as fast and unrelenting as ones such as “Coke in a vein” and “MaveRick” from “The world is mine”. The album in general is well rounded out, and contains great lyrics from Hiro as usual, and elegant compositions from the band.

EAT YOU ALIVE proved with their music that not everyone had given up on Nagoya-Kei the way the founders of it had intended (and showed again once Kuroyume returned in 2011) when they dropped “The world is mine”. Perhaps my exaltation of that album above this one is based reminiscence of its release at a time when it seemed very little quality Nagoya-Kei was being released (if you can remember back to then, we were in the middle of the Oshare-Kei  world conquest, with SuG reigning supreme), and the impact that release had on the first, and subsequent hundreds of playthroughs. It is regrettable EYA went out with a poorly attended first (and last) European tour this year, and with seemingly few news outlets covering them towards the end, and little press for their final single. They will be missed, but I am hopefully the members will resurface.

KEY TRACKS: “Sandy”, “Light come, light go.”, “Overcoming”, “Sick”, “Lily”, and tracks 8-12 for your filling of the aggressive, hard side of EYA

6. 六合 (Rikugo) -暁に産声、忘却の鼓動 (Akatsuki ni Ubuge Boukya Kuno Kodou)

            You likely overlooked albums this year, that’s okay. What’s not okay is how overlooked this album was. This release comes completely out of the left field, even more so than the unexpectedly great album by DISH. Rikugo has cruised undetected from most everyone and every Visual-Kei outlet, and based off this release, for little good reason. This album is indie perfection, and stands apart from other albums and bands with a sound as unique as massive and brilliant.
            The album doesn’t really let on that this is a band no one has heard of – it starts of with an epic sound, and doesn't let up for the entirety of the album. Everything here is impressive, from the pounding drums, to the layers of programming and keys on a number of tracks, to the sheer depth and variety of the vocals. The guitars and bass are also expertly done on this album, both from a technical standpoint and in terms of sound. The album has a unique sound throughout, which becomes particularly evident when the third track roles around, and an awesome half-minute bizarre percussion solo leads into one of the best tracks of the album, complete with keyboard and guitar feedback going through each headphone.  In a way, this is indicative of the entire album – not the specific structure of the song, but the unexpected nature of each track. The album also makes use of traditional sounds on tracks such as “薄暮へ”, showing yet another side of the band (they are from Kyoto, which may account for some of this sound).
            This album is a masterpiece, and stands apart from other albums this year due to the compositions on it. The tracks here are so impressive due to the fact that each one is like its own adventure, a completely immersive soundscape. This album packs more sound in each track that some entire bands’ careers. Don’t make the mistake of passing Rikugo up as so many others have, they are one of the best bands out there, and unfortunately, very few have heard of them. 
           
KEY TRACKS: “共心”, “獅士、玉虫の背に”, “薄暮へ”, “荒霊

YouTube Video for “求世輝導 (Guzekidou)”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jqml5HuRIQs
Soundcloud (listen to a number of their tracks): https://soundcloud.com/rikugo

5. 12012 – THE SWAN


I derived enjoyment to no end from watching people exclaim, “12012 is back!”, “OMG, Wataru isn’t screaming!” type comments found on the trailer for the music video for the title track of this album, and then the actual music video. People who don’t understand 12012 and how dynamic the band is (and always has been) were then as disappointed by this release as by last year’s “12012”. There seems to be some horrible understanding of 12012 abound amongst Visual-Kei listeners (domestic and abroad) that 12012 ever had a truly concrete style. I wrote about this last year when discussing the band’s Nagoya-Kei masterpiece, “12012”. The band is back this year with a new member in tow, and one of the softer tracks we have heard from Wataru and company in some time, and an album, that much like last year’s, blows your socks off.

This album is more varied than last year’s outing (or their other mini-album from this year, “DEICIDA OF SILENCE”), a fitting metaphor for their career. The first track, “THE SWAN”, is slower than anything we have heard from this band since they covered GLAY’s “Winter, again” back in 2011. Wataru’s voice is gorgeous on this track, and the guitars drive it, likely an opportunity to show off their new guitarist. After the first track, the band returns to the evolving style we have been seeing since they put out last year’s self-titled album, except with richer vocals, and not precisely the same instrumentation. Throughout the album, Wataru’s vocals return to more of an early 12012 style – that is to say use of echo and effects at times, coupled with more singing than screaming, and plenty of groans and deep throat sounds. Wataru’s voice is the star of this album, and the guitars come in a close second. If “12012” was too intense, too violent for you, this album may be more to your liking, as it combines some very aggressive sounds with more of Wataru singing and not screaming, and also more noticeably varied compositions (not to say last year’s release wasn’t varied, but apparently people thought all the tracks sounded the same because of a unified style).

While this album is brilliant, it is not last year’s “12012”. The bass and drums are not as impressive here as on tracks such as “SUICIDE” or “BAAL-ZEBUL”, for one. Even typing that, I feel a bit unfair, as those two tracks are some of the best Nagoya-Kei tracks ever recorded, but still. Perhaps the rather grueling pace the band was running at this year (and they have been going at it since coming out of what was basically a hiatus the year before that) meant some loss of quality. That isn’t to say this album is weak though – 12012 accomplishes more in five tracks than a lot of bands do in their entire careers. The album is aggressive, and shows, just like last year, one of the most dynamic bands in not just Visual-Kei, but any genre.

KEY TRACKS: Obviously “THE SWAN”, and also “BLACK RAIN”, but the entire album really. The songs all have a unique character, and there are only five, after all.

4. TIE the god and death stars and amber gris

the god and the death stars – dawn of the god


Much like DISH, this band has escaped the notice of many, yet the have certainly accrued more notoriety in the underground scene. The band’s members (including those that have now left) have been a host of some of the greatest Visual-Kei bands of the past two decades – deadman, Plastic Tree, kein, 9GOATS BLACK OUT, and the list goes on. This is the god and death stars’ first album, but one would not necessarily guess it, as it is near flawless.

The album - as one would expect from a band with roots in others such as kein and deadman – is dark, moody, and beautiful. Despite being underground, the band’s playing and vocals could hold their own against any major Visual-Kei band. This being said, the album is far more adventurous in terms of its sound than many major Visual-Kei bands. The band achieves a nice flow throughout due to their style and the similar atmosphere across the tracks, which is also pulled together by a sort of minimalist, yet layered sound.

There isn’t much I can accomplish, especially in this short of a space, so I am not going to aim to try – the album is brilliance, and masterfully executed. If you somehow overlooked this release, I would heavily suggest you find time to listen to it.

KEY TRACKS: , “brother mustang”, “半分人”,  ガシガスガソ”, “emmny”


amber gris – AROUND CHILDREN

            amber gris has one of the most unique sounds in Visual-Kei, now more than ever with the departure of 9GOATS BLACK OUT from the scene (who were also touring buddies of amber gris). amber gris maintains a sort of decadent, opulent (in a subversive way) style in all of their concerts, looks, and videos, and this new album is no exception. This album showcases the beautiful vocals, lyrics, and instrumentation one has come to expect from amber gris, however, in perhaps a different manner than before.
            Temari (vocals) is the centerpiece, as usual, here. His lyrics and singing are near peerless, with the rich imagery of nature employed in this album as before. Lyrics are too subjective to measure an improvement of quality in, however the instrumentation on this album is better than an earlier amber gris. The bass, in particular, stands out on this album far more than their first, “pomander”, along with the drums. The guitar work as per usual is some of the best around, with some of the best layering and melodies of the year, in particular.
            Discussing tracks individually is difficult, as the album seems to seek a unity, and in this sense, it is far more a single piece of work than “pomander”.  Overall, this album forgoes faster and harsher tracks than what was found on the second half of “pomander” for a selection of softer tracks. This works in its own way, and gives the album an emphasis more on beauty, and seemingly fragility, than “pomander” before it. The album has a very different feel than “pomander”, even if it is dripping with amber gris’s signature sound.


KEY TRACKS: “Fragile”, “hermit”, “bright or blind”, “for crying out loud”

3. TIE – DISH and Umbrella

I frequently let anyone who cares to know (and those who don’t) that the world needs more Shoegaze-Kei (I am the only one calling it that). Usually, there is a supreme dearth of Shoegaze-Kei each year, or Visual-Kei making use of Shoegaze sounds, however, this year was a bit different. Whether it was yazzmad’s first full or these two discs, everyone that loved Shoegaze had something to love this year in Visual-Kei.
Of course, I shouldn’t simply say that there was Shoegaze-Kei this year, rather, it was really darn good Shoegaze-Kei. Umbrella and DISH both delivered discs that exist in a realm above even the really good music we heard from yazzmad this year.  I placed these two releases as a tie because they are both excellent, and both different varieties of Shoegaze and Visual-Kei.

Umbrella - モノクローム (Monochrome)


Umbrella has been doing pretty well as of late, having gone and played at an American convention and all. They still don’t have the notoriety of some other bands that have played similar conventions (Awoi, Mixx Speakers), but, what they lack in popularity, they make up for in sound. This album contains the most beautiful sound we have gotten from Umbrella yet, and it mixes in some softness with moments of Umbrella’s characteristic feedback and unrelenting bass.

This album starts off with “セカイノオワルヲト”, a beautiful, four-minute opening track with no vocals. It shows growth on Umbrella’s part, as it holds back some of their more aggressive sounds, and instead becomes an airy track very characteristic of the Shoegaze style. The second track moves into a far more aggressive Umbrella, and sounds much like what we have heard from them before, but with additional depth, and the instrumentation simply sounds cleaner and more precise than some of their other releases. The third track continues the deployment of sounds from the usual Umbrella repertoire, before moving into the title track. “モノクローム” is perhaps the best track on this album, as it showcases an Umbrella that has developed significantly, cognizant of their own style, and how to tinker with it enough to come out with a song that listeners will recognize as distinctly them while still exploring new sounds. The sound makes use of lo-fi recording of the bass, and despite being the most aggressive and driven track on the album, has a significant amount of emotion and feeling imbued in it.

The next two tracks return to a more typical Umbrella style and eschew the harsh, lo-fi bass of “モノクローム”. The sixth track, “微熱”, slows everything down a bit, and adds in the best guitar work of the album, with beautiful layering during the solo. The final track, “LoV”, is emotional, reserved, and quiet during the verses, before picking up during the chorus. Again, the track has a sort of flow of its own, unique from the album’s, by the feedback from the guitars (heavily controlled by pedals), and the vocals (which are at their greatest on this track).

Umbrella has grown as a band greatly and this album exists as evidence. The biggest piece of this is that the album has a great flow, with each track seeming to spill over into the next. As per my usual complaint with mini-albums of newer bands, I wish we had a full album to really sink our teeth into, but this serves as a great demonstration of why Umbrella has experienced the success they have, and why they are going to be on my radar for 2014.

KEY TRACKS: “風穴”, “モノクローム”, “微熱”, “LoV”



DISH – 春と訣別と咲乱 (Haru to Ketsubetu to Sakuran)


Speaking of bands that are on peoples’ radars, here is a band on nobody’s radar. A band so underground, probably only hipster burrowing animals know of them (no, I don’t mean that, I have talked to hipsters and they don’t have this good of taste in music). DISH has been around since 2007, yet escaped most everyone’s notice, and this is their first substantial release. The album is a dark, atmospheric masterpiece of Shoegaze and Visual-Kei on a level few records I have ever heard use Shoegaze sounds in Visual-Kei are.
The album is rich in sound, whether through usage of feedback loops hidden in the background, to the guitar that drives the album. Hirofumi’s vocals are also excellent throughout this album, and drive the dark atmosphere the band creates. The main attraction, however, is the guitar, which suprises the listener on every track with a variety of pedals, different ways of using feedback, and different methods of layering the lead and rhythm guitar. The album alternates between slow and soft, fast and harsh, and pulls both off with equal race. Every instrument, including Hirofumi’s voice, is completely dynamic on this album, changing to fit each and every song while retaining a unique, dark sound. There is a raw sound that coexists with very polished playing throughout the album, giving it a rough yet atmospheric edge, even on tracks like the ballad, “49”.
The back end of this record is where the flow of the tracks and style at a level of perfection that very few other bands achieved this year, and that few every do, with repetition of the ominous opening track used, to some of the most spacious and haunting compositions on this or any record from this year.
Here is hoping to increased recognition of DISH’s work (and even existence, because their presence is really not noticed it seems) and hopefully more of it, in this coming year. The band currently only has Hirofumi on vocals, and Kouhei on bass, with TSUTOMU (ex CANNON the CIGARETTE, now in bastard), so it would be great if TSUTOMO became a regular member and the band could secure some guitars. Don't make the incredibly common mistake of overlooking DISH – they are some of the most promising talent in Visual-Kei.

KEY TRACKS: “箱船”, “DISCO BEAT EMOTION”, “SNOW EMOTION”, “49”, “ナミダレイン”, “メロウイエロウ


2. DIAURA – FOCUS

            When DIAURA announced they had an album coming out this year, I figured it would be one of the best and I wasn’t disappointed. DIAURA has burst on the scene with a ferocity rivaled by few bands, and a sound that is completely their own. Visual Kei Heaven reviewer Jeff has already discussed how DIAURA has a completely unique style and method of composing songs that stand out from the crowd, and this is the rule not the exception, again with “FOCUS”.
            This album is far more impressive than DIAURA’s first full-length outing, “GENESIS”, due to both better songs and their obvious growth as a band. From track one on, it becomes clear that DIAURA has grown, with better instrumentation and vocals than we have heard from them before. The album reflects this throughout, with a slew of songs that are indicative of DIAURA’s signature style – varied, unpredictable, and beautiful.
            This album doesn’t let up from start to finish in terms of excellence, which is   what I had been hoping for from these guys after a string of brilliant singles. The songs here are like the recent tracks, “Lily” and “SIRIUS” – full of changes and a variety of sounds. This unpredictable nature united by a very clearly matured style of the band lends itself to creating one of the best albums of the year. Here is hoping DIAURA keeps up their relentless pace and treats us to even more in 2014.

KEY TRACKS: “TABOO”, “SIRIUS”, “Sleeping beauty”, “Innocent”, “TRIGGER”

1. SCREW – SCREW

            SCREW has been the butt of a fair number of jokes on the Visual Kei Heaven Countdown, and I would imagine other places as well. Before and after the release of “DEEP SIX”, it seemed like the band was up to little at all except sticking around to perpetually appear on their monthly Nico Nico program for devout fans. By all accounts, it seemed like SCREW was down for the count, and headed down disbandment road, especially going off of how much “DEEP SIX” stuck in everyone’s collective memory. When the band announced that they would be releasing a new self-titled album, the Visual Kei Heaven staff chatted about it amongst ourselves, and the consensus was that nobody was really anticipating it or expecting much. Then they released the music video for “RED THREAD”, and suddenly everyone was all-eyes-on-SCREW.
            The album begins with the slow, almost menacingly slow “微笑みを亡くした愛と自由”. The track then lapses into moments of Byou sounding the roughest he has in a while, followed by some stellar guitar work. And then as the track slowly dies off, the album launches into “RED THREAD”, which is a difficult track to describe. I say difficult because it is probably the single most perfect track put out by a Visual-Kei band this year. The instrumentation is the best SCREW has ever laid down on a record, and the entire track is sublime. This sets the pace for the rest of the album – amazing instrumentation, vocals, and an aggressive side of SCREW I was pretty sure was gone a long time ago. The album is far more aggressive than the lead up singles of “XANADU” and “Teardrop” let on, and the pace continues pretty much throughout, while letting up for some softer tracks such as “death candle”, and different spaces in the various tracks. This harder side of SCREW never really outlives its welcome, and instead creates the best atmosphere on an album of the year, with SCREW seeming to have more of a style here than throughout their entire career. The tracks flow straight into one and other, creating a great sense of unity.
            Much like 12012’s self-titled masterpiece of 2012, this album came completely out of the left field, and from a band a lot of people weren’t expecting much at all from. After hearing SCREW’s newest single following the album, “CAVALCADE”, it appears the new and improved SCREW was no hoax.
           
KEY TRACKS: “RED THREAD”, “XANADU”, “death candle”, “EVERYTHING’S A LITTLE CRAZY RIGHT NOW”, “Get You Back”, “Teardrop”
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1 comments:

  1. Ummm why does DIV's ZERO ONE appear twice?

    ReplyDelete