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Tracklist |
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01 359°は捨てる －地下街の喫茶店－
02 vote creative sounds －クソみたいな印税－
03 FIVE SENSES-FIVE MINUTES －自分のしがらみに溺れるな－
04 追い詰められて －青い時間－
05 静寂と壁と闇 －PUBLIC NOISE FADE OUT－
06 距離を感じる －僕だって青い世界へ行きたいよ－
07 無気力 －焦らないでどうしたものか－
08 けだるくまぶしい －素直になりたい－ |
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Review |
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It may take a while to find Qomolangma Tomato's second full length, Limelight Blue on the Q.T. in a Japanese store, due to the fact that "Qomolangma" is pronounced "chomoranma". An alternate name for Mt. Everest, the band's name is easily forgettable. While touring the smoky live houses of Japan, QT have been proving their rabid punk is much more memorable than their name.
The defining quality of QT is their vocalist, Ishii Naruto. Calling him a singer is misleading. Ishii prefers to yell, screech and scatter his words across the music, without much regard to the rhythm of the backing guitar, bass and drums. While this type of vocal delivery does not create sing along choruses or memorable harmonies, Ishii is a demented windup toy that makes QT unpredictable and exciting. It's the feeling that anything could happen next that gives the band its power.
On Limelight, the angst and sing-speak delivery of 2007's chomo to boku wa shigarami no naka covers the first half of the album. The opener "359° breakup", picks up after a few hi-hat touches and a meddling, spiraling bass line. Yamanaka Haruo's bass winds up Ishii's sing-speak delivery until his shout turns to scream. Many of QT's tracks are heavy on this relentless punk attack of vocals and repeated guitar lines, with the occasional slowdown to rock riffs. The opening track of Limelight is a fine introduction to QT - a band that allows its frontman to roam around guitar licks and head bobbing bass lines. Rarely satisfied with a traditional verse-chorus structure, QT's music adapts to the fuming Ishii, blasting at his most furious moments, and instantly turning it down for a soft interlude.
The first half of Limelight may sound more energetic to QT newcomers, but for fans of the group's previous LP, there is nothing fresh. It's surprising to hear the band regress, three of the tracks suffer from monotonous bridges that seem to be fillers until Ishii's next rant. The lack of any sort of contour in the opening half of the album leaves Ishii sounding dull, especially with minimal understanding of Japanese.
On the thirty seven minute Limelight, the underwhelming beginning is overcome by "Public Noise Fade Out". The track smacks new life into the album with one of QT's most patient tunes. Ishii lets the band breathe and build on a funk stop-start rhythm that rises with the frontman's contained fury. It's a taste of QT's range, and a shift within the album. QT continue the shift by exchanging power chords for bouncing bass and a more complete fusion of vocals and instrumentation. Ogura Naoya's electric chop blends with the vocals in bridges that make the head bounce instead of bang. On "Feel the distance", a twittering snare, hissing hit-hat and pulsing bass/guitar combination fuel one of the finest tracks on the album, without too much spoken intrusion.
One Texas band always comes to mind when listening to QT - At the Drive In. Although similar in vocalists, QT doesn't yet have the brute force of the El Paso natives. On Limelight, the young band shows the potential to break open their songs and let the juices spill out like in ATDI's calmer moments. 2007's chomo to boku wa shigarami no naka is a better, more complete album, but Limelight grows with a plentiful dose of funk and melody. The gradual stepping away from Ishii's screams result in full-bodied tracks that display the depth of the young band, lifting the album to recommended status. All of this points toward a bright future for QT, and with only a year between first and second LP, it's a step forward for one of the brighter bands in the country. |
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