REVIEW: MUCC - FUZZ
MUCC’s singles this year have been an extremely mixed bag. Their first one seemed to follow their style the closest, though Libra was almost the culmination of the MUCC “sound” so to speak, and the b-side, Touei, could have been on Gokusai. From there they went to the undeniably poppy Flight, with a b-side that seemed to channel Blankey Jet City. Now, five months later, we have another one. This time it’s not only completely different from the other two, but the title track is completely different from anything they’ve ever done. Ever.
What are Miya and Co. up to now? Keep reading.
MUCC
FUZZ
Genre: rock, angura, electro
Release Date: 10.31.2007
Price: ¥1,200
Released By: Universal Sigma
Tracks: 4
01.FUZZ
02.Chain Ring
03.Mae e (2007/05/01 CLUB CITTA)
04.FUZZ electro cruisin’ mix
FUZZ starts out right away with a fuzzy (no pun intended) guitar riff before launching into a techno-style beat. Then, the harmonica comes in, and if the bass on your system is good, you can hear that trademark thicker sound of an upright bass, which seems to be Yukke’s new favorite toy these days. The thing that strikes me most about this song is how un-repetitive it is for an electronica-style song. For instance, there are drum breakdowns almost every half a minute, and a slight tempo change after the first minute or so. There’s even a tinge of acoustic-sounding guitar during the chorus. Tatsurou’s vocals are really nothing short of amazing. A lot of his older rough edges are really being smoothed out more and more with each subsequent release.
Next up is the song used as the ending for the anime, Zombie Loan; Chain Ring, composed by Satochi. It starts out a bit like Utagoe and keeps a little bit of that surfy, punky sound throughout. Tatsurou mostly stays in his lower to mid-range and shows off a bit of his trademark fast singing. The chorus is rather hard to miss as sounding anime-like, but I wouldn’t say it detracts from the song as a whole. Miya has a nice long solo about midway through, and the slightly more surprising part was Tatsurou’s bit of death growling before segueing back into singing. To a certain extent though, this song is more repetitive than FUZZ.
Now they decide to throw in a live track, Mae e (2007/05/01 CLUB CITTA).
The interesting thing about this song, is that it was done back in
2002, on their Homura Uta album, and following Chain Ring and yes, even
FUZZ, it’s hard to mistake that there is a similar sound there. It’s
almost as if they put this song here on purpose to show some
of their more…unsatisfied fans, that no, their recent material is not
that far removed from what they’ve always done.
As for the performance itself, it’s not bad, but it’s not particularly
outstanding either. The quick bassline stands out though and is fun to
follow, as is Tatsurou’s harmonica part.
Finally, their first ever remix featured on a single, FUZZ electro cruisin’ mix. There’s honestly not much difference between it and the original song. Except, like the title suggests, it’s a little more electro-sounding.
I have to say, it’s refreshing how much MUCC refuses to be stereotyped or boxed into one genre. If they want to do jazz, they’ll do jazz, if they want to do something light and poppy, they’ll do it, if they want to experiment with techno, well, now they’ve done it. Not only that, they’ve done it WELL. More than likely, if you enjoy any type of house or electronica, you’ll probably like this single. And it still sounds like MUCC, despite the genre-hopping.
My final word is that this single is imminently repeatable. And would be even more so if it weren’t for the live track jammed in the middle. ★★★☆☆
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
(originally published Nov 19th, 2007)
