The Hard-Boiled Wonderland

To date, Depeche Mode’s high water mark has always been 1990’s Violator LP but their 1984 effort, Some Great Reward, can also be considered a milestone in their career. The fact that it was recorded in partly in Berlin may have heightened the influence of electronic trendsetters Kraftwerk but the main reason why this record is, for me at least, a turning point in their back catalogue is where it hones the dark yet catchy signature sound that they are known for today. Much of the lyrical content turns away from the politics and social commentary (such as Construction Time Again’s Everything Counts) towards a stance that is more personal and introspective; this increased emotion is juxtaposed with a crisp, almost industrial synthesised sound that is very much a product of its time but somehow still feels fresh nearly a quarter of a century later.

The rock duo Monoral, consisting of Anis Shimada and Ali Morizumi, have two EPs and two full-length albums under their belts but I first heard their music, as quite a few others no doubt did, through their single Kiri, the song used in the opening theme to Ergo Proxy. This is featured on the second of their LPs, 2007’s Turbulence.

It’s testament to the soaring Kiri (not to mention my impulsive music purchasing habits) that I went ahead and ordered the entire album based on my impressions of that song alone; fortunately the rest of the material on offer is of a consistently high quality. It’s worth noting that all the lyrics are performed in English - a fact explained by Anis and Ali being fluent in both this and Japanese. This means that not only are the songs somewhat more accessible to overseas fans than other similar J-rock bands but it also gives the music a distinctly American flavour. Indeed, the best way I can describe the album’s sound as a whole is ‘grungy’ - there are elements reminiscent of Stateside alt-rock and similarly influenced artists that followed in the intervening years.

The style of music performed by Irish outfit God is an Astronaut falls under a number of categories that are somewhat constrictive and inaccurate, rarely doing their own individual style justice. Post-rock, shoegaze, nu-gaze, dreampop - none of these really capture it, which is especially apparent when you read of their live shows’ reputation for their visual as well as musical inventiveness. GiaA and similar artists such as Mogwai and Sigur Rós are nevetheless experimenting with how modern music can be redefined while still being melodic and are doing a fine job of it, as the EP A Moment of Stillness ably demonstrates.

The music itself is hard to describe - I can only wonder at how it would sound when performed live alongside the visual accompaniment because it feels for all the world like the soundtrack to a movie that has yet to be filmed, in a similar way to, say, Mercury Rev’s albums. GiaA, on this record at least, take a different tack to the ‘Rev in that the vocals are not a means of vocal delivery but more of another instrument that mixes in with guitar, drums and keyboards. The lack of lyrical content on offer here would otherwise threaten to take away the focus of the songs; especially when they are of the ambient variety that also casts away the pop/rock traditions of guitar and drums solos, not to mention conventional verse/chorus structures that we have become accustomed to.

MBV effectively drew a line under the ’shoegaze’ scene with their album Loveless but its predecessor Isn’t Anything is a timely reminder of how they themselves helped define the genre in the first place. It may lack the polish and perfectionism of what followed yet in some aspects it actually meets the greatest heights that Kevin Shields and co attained. One point on which this album scores higher than Loveless is how each song, whether the listener finds it to be a highlight or not, is a separate part of the whole rather than a succession of pieces that blur into one; that is to say, it is an album that contains memorable songs that stand out as individual pieces.

There’s some magical quality to the music of the Pillows that, regardless of time or mood, it can somehow make everything seem that little bit brighter and happier. Even when they’re dealing with issues such as lost love and regret for good times gone, their own brand of upbeat guitar pop lifts me without ever coming across as trite or insincere. How in heaven’s name do they do it?

After the almost embarrassing brevity of Zwan and a solo album that for some reason never made much of an impact, it’s easy to focus on the circumstances surrounding the revival of the Smashing Pumpkins instead of the songs; even calling it a ‘reunion’ is stretching it a bit when the latest effort contains only half of the original line-up. For all the gossip and sniping at the motivations surrounding Billy Corgan’s decision to reform his old band, the important thing is what should be the outfit’s raison d’etre: the music itself.

The Angry Men of Osaka have come a long way from the point of view of their international fans. Their native Japan has had them all to itself for a decade now, although the’ve made some noteworthy appearances in the US recently. It’s all the more significant, then, when their first visit to the UK is not one but two sold-out shows on consecutive nights.

Be Human, the GitS SAC soundtrack album that revolves around the idea of, well, ‘being human’. The tachikomas of the SAC were prone to discussing what it means to be human in a world of computers and AI - a recurring theme of the series that forms the concept of this record. Basically, it’s a concept album that’s dedicated to the endearing little ‘think tanks’ - if it hadn’t been penned by Ms Kanno I probably would have given it a go on that reason alone.The cover art, that of a tachikoma taking to the microphone, is reflected in the rest of the inlay booklet that places them in a variety of real life situations (i.e. not art taken from the series) in an photographic style reminiscent of the sleeve art for Pink floyd and The Verve’s early stuff. It means you don’t know what to expect from the album from a musical point of view, beyond the fact that it’s a bit strange.

Flushed with success after a tour that included sell-out shows in the USA as well as their native Japan, Osaka’s Dir en Grey released The Marrow of a Bone, their sixth full-length studio effort. Although some of the song titles and lyrics are in English, they still insist on performing many of the songs in their own native language - not that it’s very obvious given the in extremis screaming that is Kyo’s vocal trademark. The nu-metal influence is a little more obvious this time around but nevertheless they deliver a record that is characteristically original and difficult to pigeonhole.

After Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness Billy Corgan and James Iha announced that the band was taking a change in direction musically. Although this difference in sound was no doubt intended from the outset the overall feel of their follow-up, Adore, can also be attributed as much to the absence of Jimmy Chamberlin; at the time was fired from the band due to his problems with drug use. As a result, it is a very different album that lacks, among other things, the crisp and cutting drum beats of their earlier days. Instead, Adore is almost entirely a collection of slow, introspective ballads and synth-driven numbers that are a far cry from their previous alt-rock/borderline-metal offerings.