REVIEW: MUCC - Ageha
MUCC’s first release following their participation in the Taste of Chaos tour in the US. They’ve done two things; had the audacity to be influenced by bands on that tour, and returned to their angura roots visually. Perhaps in an attempt to placate both sides, it’s hard to say. This release is their standard, dvd or no dvd. A different b-side is on each one. Also, the single was produced by Ken of L’Arc~en~Ciel…and Miya, of course.
MUCC
Ageha
Genre: rock, Angura, metal
Release Date: 08-27-08
Price: 952 ¥
Released By: Universal Music
Tracks: 1 (+2)
01.Ageha (both types)
02.Concrete 082 (regular type)
03.Aoi Mori (limited edition)
Ageha - well it’s pretty easy to see where Ken is, and that’s pretty much in the opening guitar riff, which sounds rather unmistakably like L’arc’s song, My Heart Draws A Dream. The rest of the song, however, is more MUCC-like, and also just a little D’ERLANGER-like, in a very simplistic way. The chorus is a little weak and I am somewhat afraid of Tatsurou trying that falsetto live. But Miya’s old-school blazing solo is nice and surprising from him. The rest of the song more or less proceeds at light speed with a little too much cymbal fuzz in the background. The thing about this song though, is not that it’s fairly simple, or that it might be drawing on some ToC influence. No, it’s that it’s catchy and different.
Concrete 082 - the alternate b-side, this is the song they have to do every few years or so. Most recent version of this was probably Tonbi, and before that, 1979. Bass-heavy, jazz tempo, bluesy little guitar riffs, yep, it’s all there. Tatsurou is also mixed into the background, which is different. What’s not different is the falsetto, and again, the chorus. The little bit before it sounds very similar to A7X’s song A Little Piece of Heaven. But hey, there’s also harmonica! That’s never a bad thing in a MUCC song. I also like Miya’s breakdown immediately after. However, the rest of the song sort of meanders and drags on towards the end.
Aoi Mori - reminds me oddly of a band called Deep Forest. A New Age band, nonetheless, but that’s only at the start. Because MUCC is perfecting the bait and switch with this single. The rest of the song sounds like it could fit first on Shion, then on Kuchiki no Tou with its Rojiura-like refrains. There’s an odd sort of vocal harmony going too. Tatsurou is probably singing both on here, but live it will likely be him doing the low while Miya does the high. Again, that could sound awesome or awful, it depends on Miya. The chorus is also a little too similar to Ageha, I’m not sure why.
I like this single, I do. It’s different and refreshing. Kinda how Gokusai tracks seemed the year it came out. There’s some old-school influence as well as ToC influence, but none of that’s bad. The only thing that kind of got to me was that the choruses of all three songs could almost be interchanged, they were that similar. Also, it’s a bit odd when the simplest song (Ageha) ends up being the best and most memorable. For all the fun things they did in the other two, it’s still Ageha inexorably stuck in your head afterward.
Final Word: MUCC are still reinventing themselves, hold on people. ★★★★☆
Key:
★★★★★ = Excellent, flawless, perfecto
★★★★☆ = Very good, has some minor flaws
★★★☆☆ = Good, maybe a few boring moments, but overall enjoyable
★★☆☆☆ = Fair, bad outweighs the good
★☆☆☆☆ = Poor, possibly offensive to your ears
