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Blotto
Singles Collection 2004-2007 |
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Tracklist |
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01 - グライダー (Glider)
02 - spur line
03 - Anderson
04 - 朱い夏 (Akai Natsu)
05 - 遠い日 (Tooi Hi)
06 - 潮騒 (Shiosai)
07 - is this love ?
08 - splash
09 - planetaria
10 - everything
11 - time after time |
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Review |
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Something about Lucy Van Pelt's character didn't quite make the jump across that gaping expanse we call the Pacific Ocean. The crabby girl that ensured Charlie Brown would be stuck in therapy for years is mostly reduced to a highly marketable character in the Land of the Rising Sun (thank that cuteness factor!), with enough popularity to even have a band christened under her name. That band, of course, would be the modern-day advantage Lucy, forced to drop the Van Pelt several years ago thanks to copyright infringement. Their September release of Echo ParK was a significant landmark in the history of Lucy (short of finally hooking up with Schroeder), as it was the band's first new recording in a half-decade, likely due to the departure of drummer Banba Kaname and unexpected death of ex-guitarist Fukumura Takayuki. In spite of the recording hiatus and personal tragedies, the band manages to once again prove why they are one of Japan's best indie-pop acts, but at the same time, a bit of the storminess that secured Lucy's (Van Pelt, not advantage) place in the annals of comics history would have made this one more than worth the wait.
"Glider" kicks off the album with Aiko's breathy "ha"'s pulling the track to soaring heights and letting it float gently down on a bed of synth and jangly guitars. Coupled with the strong follow-up of "spur line," Lucy manages to quash any doubt that the band's time outside of the studio has dulled their feel-good songwriting skills. Quite the opposite, as they introduce extra flourishes and instruments in nearly every track to augment their usual mixture of jangle and dream pop.
"Shiosai" stands as the strongest addition to the band's catalog. Aiko's wispy vocals take on a hint of UA's sultriness while the percussion and acoustic guitar pick up the pace, helping to break up the album's otherwise moderate-tempo dominated songs. The subtle bassline melody serves as the delicate garnish for the finely finessed mid-album surprise.
The remainder of Echo ParK continues the familiar pace set up nicely with "Glider" as more hooks and silky melodies await with each number, especially "splash" which recalls the upbeat, folky sound of Cocco's recent work in Singer Songer. That's not to say the album exits as neatly as it enters, however. The unnecessarily obnoxious and repetitive faux-robotic vocals turn repeated listens of "is this love ?" into an abmoninable chore, nearly undoing the good of "Shiosai" were it not for the saving grace of the fast-forward button.
And speaking of fast-forward, the album's main fault (aside from one flawed composition) is that the second half carries on with too much similarity to the first. Lucy's got more than a handful of nice hooks and convenient instrumental tricks to show off, but Echo ParK begins to wear out its welcome, and admittedly forced this reviewer to take a short break and turn on the Lawrence Arms (on more than one occasion, in fact). Shaking up the final half by pulling "is this love?" and the slightly tedious "time after time" and adding one more track of the same caliber of "Shiosai" would have stamped this as the iconic indie-pop release of 2005.
Even still, Echo ParK is a satisfying release and a fine return to form. Apparently Lucy wasn't in much of a crabby mood during most of the songwriting sessions, so listeners with shorter attention spans might want to keep a copy of The Greatest Story Ever Told handy in case she becomes momentarily tiresome. Schroeder would understand. |
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