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Blotto
Singles Collection 2004-2007 |
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Tracklist |
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01. ORIENTAL MACHINE
02. Mexico Pub
03. WAITING FOR MY FOOD
04. 羽根の光 (album ver.) (Hane no Hikari)
05. MIND CONTROL
06. FOOD'S NEXT
07. blue song
08. 夢診断（カルテ.......無し.......mix.） [Yume Shindan (Carte.......Nashi.......mix)]
09. ト☆キ☆メ☆イ☆テ★ tonight flight (To☆Ki☆Me☆I☆Te★ tonight flight)
10. The counterattack of the dreamer（夢見人の逆襲） (Yumemibito no Gyakushu) |
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Review |
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Trading in his drumset for a guitar, Inazawa Ahito now leads Vola & the Oriental Machine, a post-punk/new wave foursome with Nakahata Daiki of syrup16g now in his revered spot. There have been few instances in the world of popular music where a drummer of one successful band has gone on to become a successful front man. One that comes to mind is Phil Collins, who was already Genesis' singer whilst on skins. With live appearances in large venues, Vola was already fated to be successful before even releasing its first album, ANDROID ~ like a house mannequin ~. And while not living up to the insurmountable hype due to its shaky writing, Vola's first full length CD shows a lot of musical skill and promise.
Opting for an impressive, energy-filled entrance, the Machine opens up with percussion laden numbers "Oriental Machine" and "Mexico Pub." while the latter is nothing new--in fact both the US and Japan are full of fun-filled indie bands with bouncy rhythm tracks and polyphonic lead guitarists--the added latin percussion coupled with Daiki's impressive drumwork really help the "Mexico Pub" stand on its own among a sea of party songs. Paired up with Yoshinori Arie's tightly congested, melodic bass lines, the rhythm section really propels the band beyond mediocre territory. In the terrific "blue song" Arie and Daiki practically steal the show.
This is not to say that Inazawa and fellow guitarist Aoki Yutaka are without their merits. They're quite capable musicians: Aoki complements the band well with his arpeggio laden licks and Inazawa sounds surprisingly at home on the guitar. However, Vola must have read the Hayashi Hiroyuki playbook for vocal delivery because in many songs, especially "Food's Next," the band could be mistaken for Polysics if it weren't for their lack of synthesizers. While this isn't necessarily a bad thing, when there's so few lead singers that sound like Polysics' front man, one cannot help but feel that Inazawa is an unworthy simulacrum; he does just fine with his own voice. Ironically the album features a rather weak remix of "Yume Shindan" that doesn't really sit well with the rest of the album, produced by Hayashi himself.
Another album black sheep, "Waiting for My Food," sounds more like a sterile Zazen Boys than a new wave revival band. However, if there's one good thing the song has it's a strong bridge. In fact, Inazawa and his crew seem to have bridges down to a science, as they are often the best part of their songs. Stronger tracks like the ethereal, bright "Hane no Hikari" and guitar heavy "Mind Control" show less of a quality difference between the verse/chorus and stronger bridge, but it's readily apparent that Inazawa likes to write songs like people like to have sex: with a typical buildup leading into a more fulfilling climax, followed by a sudden end.
Despite the excellent musicianship, it's clear that Vola & the Oriental Machine is still a little young in the way of songwriting. If they don't try so hard to fill up each page with blistering notes and shake up their tried-and-true structure a little we could end up seeing some great things. |
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