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Current Review
Cover artwork SBK
ムシャブルイ (Musha Burui)

Released: 1998.10.25 (WINP2001)
Label: Warner Indies Network

Reviewer: Rich Dodgin (2006.07.04)
Tracklist
01 - SBKのテーマ (SBK no Theme)
02 - 風 (Kaze)
03 - 太陽 (Taiyou)
04 - 危機一髪 (Kiken Ippatsu)
05 - 雨"インタールード (Ame Interlude)
06 - 神経衰弱 (Shinkei Suijaku)
07 - つるみたい つるまない (Tsuru Mitai Tsumaranai)
08 - パンチドランカー"インタールード (Punch Drunker "Interlude")
09 - 飲み会98 (Nomikai 98)
10 - ビンゴ (Bingo)
11 - いつかどこかで (Tsuchie Mix) (Itsuka Dokoka de)
12 - 太陽(Remix) (Taiyou)
Review
On their previous couple of albums SBK have given us a mind-blowing variety of musical styles, sounds, and moods. So much so that, at times, it's hard to believe the music is all the work of the same band. With Musha Burui, the group's very first album, finally available again, I was interested to see if they had always been as musically experimental.

The album opens with ‘SBK no Theme' which begins with the sound of a single acoustic guitar playing a repeating chord, before the drums and guitars join in, over which the band screams a long "Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!" If it wasn't for the fact that the singing is in Japanese, you would swear that you were listening to some early Beastie Boys track.

‘Tsuru Mitai Tsumaranai' is a great, fast moving track in which the band raps over repeated guitar rips and gunshot sounds. It's a clichéd idea, but it's done so well that you can't help but tap your foot (or play your air guitar) in time with it. And the addition of a light background keyboard sound for some of the song helps give it extra appeal.

Musha Burui is an album by a band just starting out and trying to emulate the sound of the musical artists they admire, and the overall sound is one of a Japanese version of the Beastie Boys - although the different sounds and influences that fill SBKs later releases can be heard here in places.

The fifth track, ‘Ame Interlude' is a short ambient number, quite different from the rest of the album, and an indication of the dance music influences that would become more apparent on their later releases. And ‘Itsuka Dokoka de (Tsuchie Mix)' is a thought provoking melancholy number with a traditional Japanese sound.

Some of the vocals on this album do take a bit of getting used to. Shun raps in a very high, almost girl like voice and in places it doesn't seem to fit with the general vibe of the music. However, it does provide an interesting counterpoint to Shigeo's deeper tones and, after a few listens, it fits perfectly.

Yes, it's more hip hop and less experimental than their later stuff, but I can highly recommend this – there isn't a bad track on this album, and fans of the more recent SBK sound will love it.
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