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Blotto
Singles Collection 2004-2007 |
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Tracklist |
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01 - The Prison For Your Mind
02 - Take Me Away
03 - Like Before
04 - Find The Pieces
05 - You (Acoustic Version)
06 - Never Alone
07 - Can't Refuse
08 - Empty Room |
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Review |
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Metal, meet pop. Pop, meet metal. Tokyo based duo R-P takes the two opposing genres and forms an unlikely truce. However, despite the metallic riffs and power solos, make no mistake that the basis for their sound is pop through and through.
Their first album, Mellow, opens with the fast and upbeat "The Prison For Your Mind." While the song can easily be mistaken for just another pop punk track, the key difference in sound lies in the guitars. They have that crunch that ultimately hints at the metallic quality found in faster songs like "Find the Pieces" and "Never Alone," as well as power ballad "Can't Refuse." Said songs even feature solos that would make Iron Maiden proud. Yet these solos are restrained in length (each only lasts a few seconds at most), which makes sense considering the audience that the band caters to. R-P isn't geared toward metal heads who want bombastic solos, but toward pop enthusiasts whose attention spans wander after 10 seconds.
The more mellow (no pun intended) tracks attest to the group's pop foundation. And boy, can vocalist/guitarist Murotake Gashu write a catchy pop tune. The synthesizer melody in "Take Me Away" easily bore a hole into my brain and wouldn't let itself out. "You" digs at some very smooth classical guitar work. However, R-P's pop opus has to be the nearly 5 minute "Empty Room," mixing violins, church bells, and electric and acoustic guitars to great success. In fact, all songs contain a very polished feel that works well to bring out a full, yet clear, sound. Quite a shock considering the whole album was a do-it-yourself effort. Not only does fellow R-P member Fuyama Yasuharu handle the bass, programming, and part of the guitar duties, he also did the engineering, mixing, and mastering of Mellow. Fuyama could easily get a job doing music production if he wanted. Mellow is a great testament to his skills.
All of the songs in the album are in English, and Murotake's pronounciation is pretty good despite being a little rough. It's much better than many other attempts at English by Japanese artists. He sings with an alacrity not found in those other artists which suggests that he actually knows what he's singing about. The subject matter comes off as a little sappy. Remember, though, that this is pop music. Most of the lyrics are going to be about love and yearning, though the actual words may raise an eyebrow or two. Some passages, like "The drug of living in the goddess" in "Empty Room," border enough on the bizarre to please Pixies lyricist Francis Black. In other areas it feels as if the lyrical pacing seems off, like the English felt oddly timed and placed. This is especially in the case of "Like Before," the album's weakest track.
Admittedly I was wary of liking this album when I heard that R-P was originally a metal band that changed its sound to pop in order to gain a wider audience. It seemed too much like a sacrifice of integrity or "selling out." However, there's some damn good pop to be found in here, an earnest and accessible quality found in these songs that hooks you right after the first listen. In fact, Mellow appears to be the most accessible Japanese indie album for a mainstream non-Japanese listener to date. I could easily find myself lending it to a friend who knows nothing about Japanese indie music without worry about it being too niche. While it won't make for deep listening, there's bound to be a likable song to even the toughest of audiences. |
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