6 posts tagged “mucc”
1.daikirai 2006
2.waga, arubeki basho
3.nageki tori to doukenin
4.rojiura boku to kimi e
5.monokuro no keshiki
6.saishuu ressha
7.kokoro no nai machi
8.gokusai
9.gerbera
10.libra
11.fukuro no yurikago
12.chain ring
13.anjelier
14.fuzz
15.ageha
16.oz
17.sora to ito
18.aoi mori
That is my current best-of for MUCC lately. Having recently experienced a revival of my strong feelings towards them, this is the driving mixtape that got made. Ignoring 'Daikirai' for the moment, since it's mostly only there because 1.it's a classic and 2. it filled space. I have this thing with needing to fully fill the space on a blank CD.
We have 2 songs from Zekuu, 2 songs from Kuchiki no tou, 2 songs from Houyoku, 2 songs from Gokusai, 4 songs from Shion and 3 songs from Kyuutai, and also add 2 songs from Kyuutai/Shion era singles. What does that tell you exactly?
In spite of still thinking that Zekuu is the perfect album, I would have to say that I vastly prefer post-Homura Uta material. And if we just cross out Zekuu, I would say more like Houyoku and on. Tbh, through my flatlining times with them, I've realized that most of their earliest music is just...not that good from a technical standpoint. I would rather hear Tatsu sing than do that emo scream/yell/sing hybrid thing he used to do. I also love how he's been introducing the raspyness into his vocals lately. What I do not love is some of the vibrato I'm hearing from him live.
Oddly though, as much as I love a good chunk of the songs from Shion, I don't enjoy it very much as an album. I can't stand Flight, and I don't like some of the track placement, there's some really weak tracks on there to supplement the really good ones. Also, Libra may have been better as a single. It just doesn't work as an ending track, or probably anywhere else.
Anyway, yeah, I really kinda laugh at these people who think they're so bad now, when it's obviously the exact opposite. Their earliest music was FAR from the best they're capable of and Tatsu singing >>>>> Tatsu doing anything else. People just can't tell the difference between taste and actual goodness.
Well, I dunno, after Ageha, I expected something pretty awesome, to follow that up. Did I get it? Um, no, not really.
MUCC
sora to ito
Genre: rock, metal, angura
Release Date: 01-28-09
Price: 952 ¥
Label/Distributor: Danger Crue
Tracks: 1 + 2
01. 空と糸
02. 気化熱 *w/dvd*
03. カナリア
*cd only*
The sad thing is, after all my insistence that Ken would in no way affect MUCC and make them sound like L'arc, I have to take that back. Because sora to ito unmistakably sounds like L'arc. And I can say this with authority, as a long-time former L'arc fan. Somewhere near the bridge, it goes back into that hardcore sound they've been fooling with since Ageha, and yes that helps a bit. But the main lines with Tatsu consistantly slipping into falsetto every other line, has got L'arc written all over it. As much as Tatsu is a superior vocalist to Hyde, very few beat the latter when it comes to falsetto, and Tatsu, sadly, is not that good at it. At least not consistently.
The b-side to the DVD version is Kikanetsu, and it has a disco beat stolen from a couple of their more boring songs like namonaki yume. The chorus is again, rather boring L'arc fare. I dunno, the song just never goes anywhere, and there's so much going on, that I keep losing track of where the main theme is. It pretty much disappears from my brain as soon as it ends.
The missing link is Kanaria, and I heaved a big sigh of relief as soon as I heard that upright bass. This is some jazzy mixture of old and new MUCC. It's got the flavor of Tonbi, 1979 and even a tad of Kare ga shinda hi, but also a pretty awesome guitar solo. One of the most interesting I've heard from Miya in awhile. Unfortunately, it's also much too short, and that goes for the song as well. This almost, almost redeems the other two songs.
So, what to make of this? I dunno. The title track still bores me to tears, and I'd be fine never hearing Kikanetsu again, but Kanaria is cooooool. I guess that means the bad outweighs the good, thus leading to my score.
FINAL WORD: hope y'all bought the one with Kanaria. ★★☆☆☆
_______________________________________________________
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
OHP: www.55-69.com
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/muccofficial
Last FM: http://www.last.fm/music/ムック
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
Last year marked the first year since 2000 that MUCC had not released a full album of original material. Instead they released compilations, a live album, three singles and a huge DVD set. Nevertheless, they are back in 2008 with their seventh full-length album. Shion contains the a-side tracks of all three singles, plus a previously live-only song originally titled. Gokusai part 2. Are the Mukkers back in business?
MUCC
Shion
Genre: rock, metal, angura
Release Date: 03-26-08
Price: 3000 ¥
Released By: Universal
Tracks: 13
01.Suion
02.Fukurou no yurikago
03.Nuritsubusu nara enji
04.FUZZ
05.Game
06.Flight
07.Anjelier
08.Chiisana mado
09.Semishigure
10.Shion
11.Sora wasure
12.Shiva
13.Libra
Suion is the now-standard MUCC album intro track. It’s instrumental of course, and it’s also probably their most sparse yet. It’s simply water effects with some tribal percussion and strings that dart in and out at first before getting more intense towards the end as the tempo speeds up. Naturally it leads perfectly into Fukurou no yurikago. This, I should say right away is one of my favorite songs on the album, maybe even THE favorite. It starts out with some Middle-Eastern-sounding guitaring before attacking full force. The verse structure is built over bass, but also synth. However the most interesting thing is Tatsurou’s undulating, Middle-Eastern vocal style. His rapid-fire singing sprinkled with the occasional falsetto is pretty impressive too. It mellows out for the chorus a little bit, which is almost disappointing, considering the way it was building. But that’s a very tiny complaint in an otherwise awesome song.
Next up is Nuritsubusu nara enji, and this song I swear could have come right off of KoRn’s untitled album. Not to say that they copied, but it’s pretty hard to deny the KoRn influence in MUCC’s music from the very start. I was personally glad to hear it back, even for just a moment. It starts out with some heavy murk in the instruments and Tatsurou’s deep growling, but he goes back to singing quickly. The drumming isn’t particularly imaginative on this one, but I enjoyed Miya’s solo at roughly the halfway point. Like I said, this song is an interesting combination of typical MUCCness and obviously KoRn influences. Another good Miya solo sets up the ending, which is more or less like the start.
A little fuzz leads right into, you guessed it, FUZZ. It 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.
The next track is Game, and this one is almost reminiscent of 25ji no yuutsu from Gokusai, with its slightly trippy, post-rock feel. It starts out with some distorted guitar before going into some REALLY distorted guitar. Tatsurou has some serious reverb and possibly something else on his voice, and he sings in sort of monotone chant. The drumming mostly stays out of the way and you can’t really pick out the bass with all that muddy (mucky?) guitar owning most of the space. They do take the vocal effects off for the chorus, which is a bit of a relief. There is some bass in the bridge finally though, just one throbbing note, before it launches into a very shreddy, bordering on noisy, guitar solo. The cymbal line didn’t exactly help either. Then Tatsurou comes back in using his lower register, and thankfully, without the effects. Overall though, it’s certainly catchy, and pretty different from anything they’ve done.
Next up is the a-side to the one single I didn’t review last year, Flight. It was mostly because I didn’t have much to say about what I consider one of their weakest songs ever. Even though I knew it would be here, I can’t say I’m happy about it. It also feels incredibly wrong coming after Game. And, as you will hear, it doesn’t sound right on this album at all. That doesn’t tell you anything about it though. It has misplaced synth, an annoyingly catchy chorus, Tatsurou singing in a very fake-sounding breathy voice and entirely TOO much cymbal. However, the bass isn’t bad.
Finally, Anjelier comes up next and this is one of my other favorites. I love how it starts, deceptively with that guitar riff before launching into an electronica techno beat, similar to FUZZ, but not exactly. Tatsurou definitely gets a work-out on the rhythmic side of things, and I love his singing here, it’s low and smooth, and with great dynamic control. Yukke makes another appearance in the verse sections (it’s hard to hear him much in this album, oddly). The chorus rides the line between chill-inducing and grating, especially when it sounds as though Tatsurou’s falsetto is about to break at any moment. But it’s this almost-cringe quality that makes it work so well, oddly. Miya’s solo is followed by one of Tatsurou’s distinctive raps and the song continues to gallop at full speed through a repeating chorus until the end.
This is followed by a pretty epic MUCC ballad in the form of Chiisana mado. It starts out very softly with guitar and what sounds like a high bassline and Tatsurou singing strongly over it. The strings come in shortly after the first round of verses. The drumming is heavy and on the tribal side, but the chorus is pretty dominated by the strings. One thing I will say about this song is that they incorporated the string section a LOT better than they did in Ame no Orchestra (their other string-heavy song). The only thing that makes me luke-warm on it is the lack of any kind of hook. I mean, there is one, but it’s pretty weak, and it sort of makes me yearn for it to end. Also, I didn’t think Tatsurou’s part was particularly memorable, and unfortunately vocals are really what make or break ballads.
Semishigure is next, and I already loved this song because I’ve already heard it. If you’ve followed the MUCC bootlegs, you would have heard it in the form of Gokusai part 2. Tatsurou’s overly-nasal singing in the verses is actually quite good and relatively pleasant coming from him. Miya’s main riff is very memorable and repeated often enough to really stick in your head. I also like how the vocal part follows it pretty closely. This is also one of my favorites.
The title track, Shion is up next, and it starts with a particularly menacing guitar riff right before some very tribal percussion comes in. It seems almost post-rock like Game at first, that is until the first death growl. Nevertheless, Tatsurou’s vocals again have some kind of reverby effect on them and there’s some kind of synth floating around too. The pre-chorus is Tatsurou growling over Miya’s starting guitar riff, and the actual chorus has Tatsurou singing, but somewhat mixed into the background. I do kind of think Miya repeats that riff too much. But the bridge/breakdown with the occasional low feedback that doesn’t so much squeal as it does growl, is nevertheless pretty sweet. A second trippy bridge follows with the vocals floating in and out on, again, some kind of effect before the real chorus comes back. There is a sense of impatience near the end when the tempo slows down considerably and you start wondering where the song went. It comes back to end on a drumming note, however.
Sora wasure follows with a prominent string section and a slight off-beat from the drums. That and the tempo changes though and the chorus is unimaginative and Flight-like. Miya’s solo is pretty unusual for him in its style. But this song irritates me because it has far too many elements that really don’t fit. It feels like several songs hastily chopped up and thrown together at the last moment. I want to like it…but…
Shiva comes up next, and this one is pretty mixed bag too, as you’ll see. The very beginning is full-on thrash with Miya lending the opening yell. But then a string section and accordion jumps on in and well, pretty much ruins it. The chorus is mellow and well, sounds like a couple of other less-liked songs on here. It tries to return to the thrash opening about halfway through during the bridge and solo, which would be great if it didn’t go back to that chorus immediately after. I swear, half of this song could have been on Merry’s last album. Disjointed, just like the previous one.
Fortunately Libra is next. The other song was a trick ending, but this is how the album should really end. Libra begins with a heavy industrial feel. Dark, gritty guitar riffs over a growling bass and heavy drumming. Tatsurou’s deep voice adds to this as he sings in a low rhythmic pattern over the instruments. However, as the vocals come in, the guitar dances upward into a high, bell-like tone, becoming the odd counter-melody to the darkness below it. Like I pointed out in my review of this song about a year ago, is that it’s a study in contrasts. Specifically between dark and light. Tatsurou, plays two characters, and their “lines” are very different from one another, both lyrically and musically. When the verses end, the chorus soars in, complete with string arrangement and choral accompaniment. The rest of the music holds onto a bit of that darkness, but it is Tatsurou’s powerful voice that commands your attention. For the next section of verses, the orchestra comes in full-force, which adds to the drama of the dark character’s suddenly higher, more insistent vocals. Reminding me of the classical piece, Night on Bald Mountain, the ending is like the break of day. Light and hopeful, blocking out the darkness before it.
Well well well, that’s the end, and I’m fairly certain that had this
album come out a month earlier, I might have liked it a lot more. But,
as it happened, And Hate came out first and blew me away. Everything else has to catch up, especially when it only comes out a few weeks later.
However, that being said, this is still an incredibly strong album.
Minus Flight, tracks 2 through 7 were amazing. But I felt the album
started to derail a bit in the second half. Too much strings and too
much going on in about three of them. And even though I really liked
Shion, Semishigure and of course, Libra, they were somewhat weakened by
being thrown in amongst the other three tracks. ★★★☆☆
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
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)
This year is a big one for MUCC; it is their 10th Anniversary as a band. They’ve already planned out two single releases, a live album and two compilations, not to mention a world tour. This is their first of these releases. Can they possibly top the fresh creativity they displayed in their last full-length album?
Libra
-MUCC
Release: 3/21/2007
1.Libra
2.Touei (燈映)
Libra begins with a heavy industrial feel. Dark, gritty guitar riffs
over a growling bass and heavy drumming. Tatsurou’s deep voice adds to
this as he sings in a low rhythmic pattern over the instruments.
However, as the vocals come in, the guitar dances upward into a high,
bell-like tone, becoming the odd counter-melody to the darkness below
it.
One thing I should point out right away is that this song is a song of
contrasts. Specifically between dark and light. Tatsurou, the vocalist,
plays two characters, and their “lines” are very different from one
another, both lyrically and musically.
When the verses end, the chorus soars in, complete with string
arrangement and choral accompaniment. The rest of the music holds onto
a bit of that darkness, but it is Tatsurou’s powerful voice that
commands your attention.
For the next section of verses, the orchestra comes in full-force,
which adds to the drama of the dark character’s suddenly higher, more
insistent vocals. Reminding me of the classical piece, Night on Bald
Mountain, the ending is like the break of day. Light and hopeful,
blocking out the darkness before it.
It’s hard to imagine that a b-side could come anywhere near the
amazing composition of the title track, but surprisingly enough, Touei
make a very good attempt. Beginning with what sounds immediately like a
chorus, the song segues into just Tatsurou singing over occasional bass
thumps and some wispy guitar strumming. But then, in perhaps the most
imaginative part of the song, Miya’s higher voice comes in behind
Tatsurou’s, but he’s not singing a mirror of the latter’s part. Rather
he sings short, staccato notes and he goes up when Tatsurou goes down.
The blending is simply stunning.
The chorus that was introduced at the start follows, and then the
guitar has two solos. One, a sort of wispy trade-off with the bass,
before launching into a more traditional one. Then the chorus returns
to lead us out.
This song has an almost backwards composition from what Libra had.
Chorus then verse, a blend of dark and light sounds in both, instead of
being distinctly one or the other.
Somehow, this makes the single as a whole, all the more powerful.
This was an amazing single to start out the year for MUCC. I
confess, I was quite astonished that they could make something even
fresher than the surf-rock tinged Gokusai.
But they did indeed, and I am definitely looking forward to their next releases. ★★★★★
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
