Furik

I still love them. A lot. But their new albums since going major have been kind of tame.

I still love them. A lot. But their new albums since going major have been kind of tame.

http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/500/103552579/Camera+Obscura.jpg" width="200" /> Artist: Lycaon Album: camera obscura Score: How can you get wet over something so dry?
Lycaon and I have had an icy relationship ever since they lost Mio and eve and went through their rebellious, adolescent phase. The atomic meltdown that was their "erotic phase" (god, I fucking hate that term) came to an end with 「嘘と女と『　　　　』」 全国流通盤」, and I cheered quite loudly when they decided to drop the overt 'sex sells' antics cum-plastered all over their stupid marketing gimmicks. Even so, their music lacked some of the charm and finesse that Mio and eve brought to the band. So apart from the forgettable 「マゾヒストレッドサーカス」, I haven't touched anything by this band in years. We've come to an understanding that they're not the same band they once were, and I'm not the same fan I used to be, and maybe it was better if we parted ways.

So for no particular reason at all, I decided to give "camera obscura" a chance to see where the quintet's heads are at. If I were to describe the sound, I would describe it as a mix of old and new Lycaon in the best way possible. There are some hints of the alternative metal style honed on "Royal Order", the EDM bass drops of 「マゾヒストレッドサーカス」, some of that good 80's rock vibe that I know guitarist Satoshi is fond of, and thankfully none of that erotic bullshit. Even when they decide to get raunchy, they do it in a more palatable manner. It really does offer something for new and old fans alike: tracks like "marionette", "悪女の微笑", and "追憶" remain somewhat memorable far after I finished the album. One of the things they did right with this album was reduction of harsh vocals. That's not where Yuuki's strengths are and by shedding those weaknesses he maintains the most consistent performance across the entire album. This is when Lycaon sticks to their guns and produce the quality rock music I know they can. "marionette" in particular deserves extra mention. I really like these cabaret and oriental influences that are slowly working their way into visual kei and I think more bands should try their hands at it.

There are two main reasons I can't accept "camera obscura" as is. One is the abysmal production. The guitars sound absolutely dead, and there's two of them. There's no punch to them. The treble is also way too crisp and it makes the cymbals sound like wooden blocks ("悪女の微笑"), fuzz ("アネモネ"), and other degrees of sounds I would only describe as "not cymbals". Whether the guitars are oppressive or energetic, it's the main instrument and when it's so dead a lot of potential gems here fall flat.

When the aforementioned production isn't siphoning the life out of the music, and after all those pointless interludes were deleted, the reason why I can't accept this album is because a lot of the songs are just average. "ILLUSION" comes out of left field like an Arlequin reject with that bizarre dubstep breakdown that ruins an otherwise listenable song. That would have/could have/should have been punishing riff near the end of "liar" should have hit one note a bit sharper and sounds off. "メランコリック" feels like filler. I really want to like "Dark Night", and I like the Yousei Teikoku influence they were channeling, but the bad production and the really fake sounding piano ruins it. The similarly fake piano in "Rouge" steps all over the band and doesn't fit in at all. Worst of all is the abomination that is "馬鹿ね。". It starts off interesting and quickly deteriorates to the barest of alternative rock melodies, sprinkled with some electronic effects until the embarrassing trance chorus. I cringe in horror every time it comes on. Couple in the five pointless interludes, and quickly a large chunk of the album does not please me. What about the other tracks? Apart from "アネモネ", I don't remember any of them. It's the token ballad on an album, and reminds me of "結晶華". They somehow managed to procure a real piano for this one, but the ballad is drawn out for no reason and feels forced.

Putting all of this together, I can't really say this is a great album because I didn't enjoy much of it. But I can say that it's good enough when comparing it against the average visual release, and it's head and shoulders above their last album so I guess Lycaon and I can be civil. They're actually trying to be a rock band again and I can respect them for that. Their music is lacking a particular finesse and direction that I felt they once had a long, long time ago, but it doesn't suck. I just don't find it all that compelling. I might not even remember I listened to this by the end of the year.

FACT announced on Facebook that the new album will be released digitally worldwide March 5! So, I'm assuming that means iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Amazon, etc.

New video.
"Wait"
FACT - wait (Music Video):

FACT announced on Facebook that the new album will be released digitally worldwide March 5! So, I'm assuming that means iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Amazon, etc.

FACT announced on Facebook that the new album will be released digitally worldwide March 5! So, I'm assuming that means iTunes, Google Play, Spotify, Amazon, etc.

[header]MERRY - NOnsenSe MARkeT[/header]
 


[header]Rating: | Who (or what) is MERRY? ... THIS is MERRY:[/header]






01. iNtO the mARkeT 08. Zombie Paradise ～地獄の舞踏曲～
02. NOnsenSe MARkeT 09. Carnival
03. 東京 10. Station 07
04. 自意識過剰型木偶人間 11. 千代田線デモクラシー
05. ZERO -ゼロ- 12. 梟
06. 暗闇にピンク 13. Unreachable Voice
07. Hide-and-seek 14. 群青




If anyone asked me about MERRY, I would show them “NOnsenSe MARkeT.” This is the definitive MERRY album! Not only is this album representative of MERRY as a whole, it pulls off quite a few things that don’t commonly work in Visual Kei. From the very first tracks, “iNtO the MARkeT” and “NOnsenSe MARkeT,” we have: an introduction that segues beautifully into the second track, beautiful acoustic guitars that don’t sound too poppy and in fact, add to the atmosphere (You’ll hear more in “Unreachable Voice”), and we get some fine-tuning and maturing of their previous sound from (the less than stellar received) “Beautiful Freaks.”
This album is full of throwbacks to their past styles, giving us some “現代ストイック” (Generation Stoic) vibes, a few “M.E.R.R.Y.” vibes, a little bit from “nuケミカルレトリック” (nu chemical rhetoric), and so on, while ultimately refining the sound of their previous effort. In Visual Kei, it’s not uncommon for a throwback or continuation to yield something stale, or perhaps “uninspired,” and perhaps that continued sound becomes another on the long list of (unwritten) definitions for that… “G” word (generic). But on this album, MERRY manages to show remnants of their past while keeping things fresh.
In Visual Kei, it also seems uncommon for bands to modify a recent sound for the better. If you didn’t like “Beautiful Freaks,” do not turn away from this album. The songs on this album are much more interesting and engaging, and the overall “package” is more cohesive.
One thing that contributes to the greatness of each song is the flow of the tracklist, and hearing each song in the midst of another. When I first heard “ZERO -ゼロ-” in late 2013, I completely dismissed it, despite instantly falling in love with the previous single “梟” (Owl), but hearing that song on this album made it a more enjoyable one. Although I will say, that pseudo-reggae break in the middle of the song had me cringing.
Let’s talk about Hide-and-Seek for a bit. It’s got a ‘surf-meets-’60’s jazz club’ kind of vibe, with emphasis on the jazz club, all the way down to the way all the instruments were equalised in production (just for this song); it sounds a bit like a live recording that took place at a jazz club. The song is also a rare example of how you can create one song, that can remind the listener of another (SID’s “妄想日記”), without it sounding like a carbon copy or ripoff.
Some more honourable mentions include the segment of the album from “暗闇にピンク” (Pink in the Dark) to “Carnival.” These are just damn fun songs, and overall give a similar kind of vibe. These songs are essentially the party of the album, especially “Zombie Paradise ～地獄の舞踏曲～” (Tango from Hell). After the party ends, you go to “Station 07” and take a train home… the rest of the album still has some energy, but it effectively winds down. And “千代田線デモクラシー” (Chiyoda Line Democracy) is just catchy as fuck, with the melody and that accordion.
I am about to eat my words about one song…
I thought that the album ending with “群青” (Aquamarine) was going to be bizarre, and leave the album unfinished. But when I read @*littlelamb’s comment about the song having a strong message to stay positive and hopeful, I kept an open mind. “群青” as an ending is not as bizarre as you may think. It does give you that sort of “to be continued…?” feeling, but it doesn’t feel wrong. It doesn’t leave you frustratingly thinking “where’s the last track??!!,” but instead, it leaves you anticipating MERRY’s next chapter. It’s saying, “this is where we’ll stop… for now. In the mean time, keep your head up!”
Every time I listen to the album, it doesn’t feel all that “experimental,” but in hindsight after listening, there are quite a few things that I can think of that would count as “experimental.” So maybe this album does have those moments, such as the Halloween dance track “Zombie Paradise ～地獄の舞踏曲～,” and the vintage sounding “Station 07” - “千代田線デモクラシー,” but the album isn’t scattered, or disjointed. The album is very cohesive and the tracklist flows quite nicely.
Honestly, I am highly impressed by this album, and am already considering it my favourite MERRY album. While I can’t say I’ve listened to a single album in their back catalogue as much as I have this one, I see this turning out to be their most memorable. If you want some material from a band that’s been around for awhile that can say “yeah, we still got it!,” listen to this album! If you’ve heard of MERRY, but haven’t really been engaged into their sound, listen to this album! If you’re new to Visual Kei, and wanna try out another cool band, listen to this album!
 

I don't know what happened to my pic above... but here's another.
 

 
Edit:
I think this was the picture that I posted earlier?

I have a feeling this is going to rape my wallet.

Holy shit. That look is amazing. I don't even care much for looks anymore but that look.

Holy shit. That look is amazing. I don't even care much for looks anymore but that look.

Holy shit. That look is amazing. I don't even care much for looks anymore but that look.

New video.
"Wait"
FACT - wait (Music Video):

I don't know what happened to my pic above... but here's another.
 

 
Edit:
I think this was the picture that I posted earlier?

New video.
"Wait"
FACT - wait (Music Video):

New video.
"Wait"
FACT - wait (Music Video):

I've had the name Furik since about 2001. In 2000, I was watching FLCL (Furikuri) fansubs and instantly fell in love with it. My AIM screen name was "FurikuriBoy". After a while, I shortened it to just "Furik" and i've been using the name all over the internet ever since.

Went for option number 3. I've tried plug for a while, but I don't really feel most of the music played there, it's not really my taste. If others enjoy it that's fine though! I mean I'm not going to shit on other people's fun just because I don't like it lol.

Here are my honest thoughts on the album.
C'mon, people. The capsule stans weren't really expecting this direction? Really? I knew Nakata was a hipster since I first listened to "Jumper".
I knew he was ahead of the trend and now, with this album, he's following the trend - and doing it right. "More! More! More!" and "PLAYER" were my long-night coming-off-of-drugs jams back in the day and I got a lot of my friends to listen to them. I knew this "EDM trend" scene was going to hit capsule sooner or later. It was just a matter of when.

When" Caps Lock" came out, I wasn't too surprised that he was heading in such a minimalist direction - especially after how simple "Stereo Worxxx" was perfected. However when the Wave Runner teasers and all that jazz came out, I knew that "Caps Lock" was merely just a concept album to ease their way into the Warner label. "Wave Runner" is their big break in the label - their massive monolith album.

It's pretty much a beast of an album. No lie. When I first heard "Feel Again", it was instant love. Toshiko is ever-so-present and is very pleasing due to her being somewhat absent in later releases (not completely). I knew this was released to please the capsule stans. What made it interesting is the break in the song - so beefy. So simple. Almost similar to Martin Garrix's "Animals". That is when I knew that the day has finally come - the day Nakata's hispter music has surfaced.

There's so many great songs on this album. 'Wave Runner' starts off with an appropriately self-titled track. It takes some cues from the intro track to "Fruits Clipper" and "Flash Back", I feel. However this time it feels more like an anthem - to prepare yourself for what this album has in store.

The album gracefully starts off with 'Another World'. Very somber at the beginning - with Toshiko very much present. It's not until after the verse when things get bumpin'. The chorus is, what the stans will consider, very American EDMish. At this point in my life I don't even care. Yeah it's been so overused the past 5 years that it's just natural - it feels like - to hear it on the radio, etc. However what makes this difference from all of that is that Nakata is doing it with care. He isn't whoring it out, plastering useless bloops and bloops, drum beats and whacky basslines like m-flo has done since their return.

Nakata has had this musical change in his mind since the release of "Flash Back" - I guarantee it. It's just so obvious. Like I said, it was only a matter of time.

There are some great tracks on here - obviously the singles "Another World" and "Feel Again". "Dreamin' Boy" is an incredible song. Toshiko sounds so good and there's the traditional capsule melody and synth you'd expect from earlier capsule. "Hero" is also another massive track. The beginning sounds like something that would've easily been on "Sugarless Girl". Also, "Depth". This is my first time hearing it. I know it was on some movie or game or something. The vocoder in this song MAKES IT. Yes.

Now the album isn't completely perfect. I might get hate for saying this but I can't really get into "Dancing Planet". I've heard it being compared to the likes of "Factory". I'm usually a fan of Nakata's instrumental work but I, for some reason, just can't dig this. I mean it's good. The production is top-notch and the drums and sound effects are incredible. It just feels a little out of place on the album. "Unrequited Love" is another weak song. It's just not as good as the other songs that Toshiko is present in. "Beyond the Sky" is also another weak instrumental track. I'm just not feeling it. I do love the PSO-ish vibe coming from it though.

I'm only on my second or third listen but I am very much pleased with the album. I can see myself listening to it for a while. People who are upset at their direction need to take a good hard look at their previous later works and ask yourself why. I am not a capsule stan at all. My life doesn't revolve aound eating and drinking capsule. I do, however, consider myself a big fan of them. I've purchased every album they've released since "More! More! More!" (thanks to MH for introducing me to them during that era). I've even gone along and purchased some of their back catalog too.
 
Nakata is a great producer and capsule would NOT be the same without Toshiko. The two are meant to be together with this group. However what i'm trying to say is that not much has changed with this album when comparing it to, say, "Player" or "World of Fantasy". At ALL. Sure, electronic music has evolved a little bit since then - with trap beats and trance like synths in choruses becoming the normal in modern EDM but capsule has not had that much of a drastic change. (Their major change in musical direction was when "Fruits Clipper" was released.) I just feel this album is just like anything else they've released since. It's still a solid album and people should be happy Toshiko is so present in it - compared to the stock vocals.

I still can't really give it a rating yet but if I could just come up with one off the top of my head, i'd say on a 1-5 scale, i'd give it a 3.5/5. 
Highlights: Another World, Dreamin'Boy, Hero, Feel Again, Depth
 

Here are my honest thoughts on the album.
C'mon, people. The capsule stans weren't really expecting this direction? Really? I knew Nakata was a hipster since I first listened to "Jumper".
I knew he was ahead of the trend and now, with this album, he's following the trend - and doing it right. "More! More! More!" and "PLAYER" were my long-night coming-off-of-drugs jams back in the day and I got a lot of my friends to listen to them. I knew this "EDM trend" scene was going to hit capsule sooner or later. It was just a matter of when.

When" Caps Lock" came out, I wasn't too surprised that he was heading in such a minimalist direction - especially after how simple "Stereo Worxxx" was perfected. However when the Wave Runner teasers and all that jazz came out, I knew that "Caps Lock" was merely just a concept album to ease their way into the Warner label. "Wave Runner" is their big break in the label - their massive monolith album.

It's pretty much a beast of an album. No lie. When I first heard "Feel Again", it was instant love. Toshiko is ever-so-present and is very pleasing due to her being somewhat absent in later releases (not completely). I knew this was released to please the capsule stans. What made it interesting is the break in the song - so beefy. So simple. Almost similar to Martin Garrix's "Animals". That is when I knew that the day has finally come - the day Nakata's hispter music has surfaced.

There's so many great songs on this album. 'Wave Runner' starts off with an appropriately self-titled track. It takes some cues from the intro track to "Fruits Clipper" and "Flash Back", I feel. However this time it feels more like an anthem - to prepare yourself for what this album has in store.

The album gracefully starts off with 'Another World'. Very somber at the beginning - with Toshiko very much present. It's not until after the verse when things get bumpin'. The chorus is, what the stans will consider, very American EDMish. At this point in my life I don't even care. Yeah it's been so overused the past 5 years that it's just natural - it feels like - to hear it on the radio, etc. However what makes this difference from all of that is that Nakata is doing it with care. He isn't whoring it out, plastering useless bloops and bloops, drum beats and whacky basslines like m-flo has done since their return.

Nakata has had this musical change in his mind since the release of "Flash Back" - I guarantee it. It's just so obvious. Like I said, it was only a matter of time.

There are some great tracks on here - obviously the singles "Another World" and "Feel Again". "Dreamin' Boy" is an incredible song. Toshiko sounds so good and there's the traditional capsule melody and synth you'd expect from earlier capsule. "Hero" is also another massive track. The beginning sounds like something that would've easily been on "Sugarless Girl". Also, "Depth". This is my first time hearing it. I know it was on some movie or game or something. The vocoder in this song MAKES IT. Yes.

Now the album isn't completely perfect. I might get hate for saying this but I can't really get into "Dancing Planet". I've heard it being compared to the likes of "Factory". I'm usually a fan of Nakata's instrumental work but I, for some reason, just can't dig this. I mean it's good. The production is top-notch and the drums and sound effects are incredible. It just feels a little out of place on the album. "Unrequited Love" is another weak song. It's just not as good as the other songs that Toshiko is present in. "Beyond the Sky" is also another weak instrumental track. I'm just not feeling it. I do love the PSO-ish vibe coming from it though.

I'm only on my second or third listen but I am very much pleased with the album. I can see myself listening to it for a while. People who are upset at their direction need to take a good hard look at their previous later works and ask yourself why. I am not a capsule stan at all. My life doesn't revolve aound eating and drinking capsule. I do, however, consider myself a big fan of them. I've purchased every album they've released since "More! More! More!" (thanks to MH for introducing me to them during that era). I've even gone along and purchased some of their back catalog too.
 
Nakata is a great producer and capsule would NOT be the same without Toshiko. The two are meant to be together with this group. However what i'm trying to say is that not much has changed with this album when comparing it to, say, "Player" or "World of Fantasy". At ALL. Sure, electronic music has evolved a little bit since then - with trap beats and trance like synths in choruses becoming the normal in modern EDM but capsule has not had that much of a drastic change. (Their major change in musical direction was when "Fruits Clipper" was released.) I just feel this album is just like anything else they've released since. It's still a solid album and people should be happy Toshiko is so present in it - compared to the stock vocals.

I still can't really give it a rating yet but if I could just come up with one off the top of my head, i'd say on a 1-5 scale, i'd give it a 3.5/5. 
Highlights: Another World, Dreamin'Boy, Hero, Feel Again, Depth
 

Here are my honest thoughts on the album.
C'mon, people. The capsule stans weren't really expecting this direction? Really? I knew Nakata was a hipster since I first listened to "Jumper".
I knew he was ahead of the trend and now, with this album, he's following the trend - and doing it right. "More! More! More!" and "PLAYER" were my long-night coming-off-of-drugs jams back in the day and I got a lot of my friends to listen to them. I knew this "EDM trend" scene was going to hit capsule sooner or later. It was just a matter of when.

When" Caps Lock" came out, I wasn't too surprised that he was heading in such a minimalist direction - especially after how simple "Stereo Worxxx" was perfected. However when the Wave Runner teasers and all that jazz came out, I knew that "Caps Lock" was merely just a concept album to ease their way into the Warner label. "Wave Runner" is their big break in the label - their massive monolith album.

It's pretty much a beast of an album. No lie. When I first heard "Feel Again", it was instant love. Toshiko is ever-so-present and is very pleasing due to her being somewhat absent in later releases (not completely). I knew this was released to please the capsule stans. What made it interesting is the break in the song - so beefy. So simple. Almost similar to Martin Garrix's "Animals". That is when I knew that the day has finally come - the day Nakata's hispter music has surfaced.

There's so many great songs on this album. 'Wave Runner' starts off with an appropriately self-titled track. It takes some cues from the intro track to "Fruits Clipper" and "Flash Back", I feel. However this time it feels more like an anthem - to prepare yourself for what this album has in store.

The album gracefully starts off with 'Another World'. Very somber at the beginning - with Toshiko very much present. It's not until after the verse when things get bumpin'. The chorus is, what the stans will consider, very American EDMish. At this point in my life I don't even care. Yeah it's been so overused the past 5 years that it's just natural - it feels like - to hear it on the radio, etc. However what makes this difference from all of that is that Nakata is doing it with care. He isn't whoring it out, plastering useless bloops and bloops, drum beats and whacky basslines like m-flo has done since their return.

Nakata has had this musical change in his mind since the release of "Flash Back" - I guarantee it. It's just so obvious. Like I said, it was only a matter of time.

There are some great tracks on here - obviously the singles "Another World" and "Feel Again". "Dreamin' Boy" is an incredible song. Toshiko sounds so good and there's the traditional capsule melody and synth you'd expect from earlier capsule. "Hero" is also another massive track. The beginning sounds like something that would've easily been on "Sugarless Girl". Also, "Depth". This is my first time hearing it. I know it was on some movie or game or something. The vocoder in this song MAKES IT. Yes.

Now the album isn't completely perfect. I might get hate for saying this but I can't really get into "Dancing Planet". I've heard it being compared to the likes of "Factory". I'm usually a fan of Nakata's instrumental work but I, for some reason, just can't dig this. I mean it's good. The production is top-notch and the drums and sound effects are incredible. It just feels a little out of place on the album. "Unrequited Love" is another weak song. It's just not as good as the other songs that Toshiko is present in. "Beyond the Sky" is also another weak instrumental track. I'm just not feeling it. I do love the PSO-ish vibe coming from it though.

I'm only on my second or third listen but I am very much pleased with the album. I can see myself listening to it for a while. People who are upset at their direction need to take a good hard look at their previous later works and ask yourself why. I am not a capsule stan at all. My life doesn't revolve aound eating and drinking capsule. I do, however, consider myself a big fan of them. I've purchased every album they've released since "More! More! More!" (thanks to MH for introducing me to them during that era). I've even gone along and purchased some of their back catalog too.
 
Nakata is a great producer and capsule would NOT be the same without Toshiko. The two are meant to be together with this group. However what i'm trying to say is that not much has changed with this album when comparing it to, say, "Player" or "World of Fantasy". At ALL. Sure, electronic music has evolved a little bit since then - with trap beats and trance like synths in choruses becoming the normal in modern EDM but capsule has not had that much of a drastic change. (Their major change in musical direction was when "Fruits Clipper" was released.) I just feel this album is just like anything else they've released since. It's still a solid album and people should be happy Toshiko is so present in it - compared to the stock vocals.

I still can't really give it a rating yet but if I could just come up with one off the top of my head, i'd say on a 1-5 scale, i'd give it a 3.5/5. 
Highlights: Another World, Dreamin'Boy, Hero, Feel Again, Depth
 

Sorry but I didn't get the point of this.

It is with a heavy heart that I profess to not being into this album at all. My thoughts on the recent developments of the band have been documented on Lycaon thread ( which is an essential read before proceeding ) some time ago and needless to say I was hyping my balls off waiting for this thing and after I finally got listen to the thing from beginning to end, I felt nothing. Ever since its release I've gone through it a few times trying to dissect my feelings towards it... or lack thereof rather.
 
The important facet of my relationship towards Camera Obscura is that thematically they've lost me here. The album appears to be working on the themes of Shadow and this has been done at the expense of the debauchery of Masochist Red Circus. It's worth noting that variety present in MRC is also gone in favor of almost Royal Order esque chugging with a special guest feature from that god-damn dad aroma riff, and when you have songs that essentially repeat their parts ad nauseam it's not really worth sitting through this thing just for the ride either. I loved the smell of spilled liquor and cum from Eros onward and when they started having those fabled -old school- tinges I was sold. Well those are gone now for the most part, along with the almost occult atmospheres they played around with on some the b-sides. 
 
There are songs here that I should like -in theory-. They've got their usual vocal hooks delivered by Yuuki's voice which I am very much a fan of, but nothing ever ends up hitting the mark with me like their singles did. I really cannot shake the feeling that they've just added hooks into exceptionally drab skeletons of songs and as a result lack the more richer and most importantly varied sound scapes of the singles. I honestly thought that until now they had not released a song that sounded even vaguely similar to another since Rose.
 
I'm just extremely underwhelmed. Songs 3,4, 15 ,16 harken one back to their old stuff in a very unsavory manner, the ballad in the middle is the single biggest who gives a fuck ballad I've heard in my life and while Gypsy along with some others are cool, they unfortunately remain cool for the first two minutes after which you've heard everything and can safely push skip without missing out on anything in particular.
 
Where I see myself in the future is in sticking to the singles but I suppose I'm not completely discounting the possibility of this album growing on me, but right now I remain doubtful. 

Oh well. I'm a DELUHI stan so they'll get my money.