Ark
Artist: L’Arc~en~Ciel
Album: Ark
Musicians: Hyde (vocals), Ken (guitar), Tetsu (bass), Yukihiro (drums)
Composer/Lyricist:
Release Date: 1 Jul 1999
| Ark - L’Arc~en~Ciel Tracklisting: 01. forbidden lover *Bold titles - recommended listening. |
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OVERVIEW
Ark is the sixth album for the prolific band L’Arc~en~Ciel. It was the first with their current lineup, which brought in a new drummer, Yukihiro. But their music has not changed at all. Their name means “rainbow,” and their sound resembles that happy natural phenomenon. Their sound is characterized by light rock and borderline pop, without any of the edginess or hostility of harder rock bands. The songs in Ark don’t break away from this signature style at all, but that is not really a bad thing. L’Arc~en~Ciel knows how to make the most of their style. What they’re weakest at, actually, is not the music itself, but rather their chosen song order on Ark, which makes some of their songs sound weaker than they probably would be on their own. Other than that, Ark features some good songs that make this album above average.
THE GOOD
HEAVEN’S DRIVE
This should have been the album opener. It has the right combination of energy and melody for the role; this is a song that makes you want to move along with it and sing with the bandstand chorus. Hyde shows off his vocals, the guitars jam with an off-beat rhythm, and when the chorus hits, background singers swoop in and an entire brass section soars overhead, rounding off the big sound of the song and complimenting the other instruments. An intricate and impressive guitar solo in the middle completes this song. “HEAVEN’S DRIVE” is one of the strongest songs on this album.
Driver’s High
“Driver’s High” was one of the opening themes for the Great Teacher Onizuka anime series. Unlike some anime opening themes, though, it stands on its own very well and is one of the strongest tracks on this album. Hyde’s vocals are at their best here, and the guitars instill such spirit into the song that you can’t help but feel energized by it. This is just a feel-good song that you can turn up to max while driving down the highway and bop to.
Cradle
This song is different stylistically from the others on Ark. From the record-scratch beginning, the song moves into strange electronica and peaceful guitar chords. Hyde’s voice slurs from note to note, like the gentle rocking of the titular object. The first few times I heard this song, I didn’t like it, so much so that I was even considering putting this down in the “Bad” section. It was too slow to my ears, and the melody was not interesting. But the more I listened to it, the more I actually wanted to listen to it. The bittersweet quality of the melody won me over, as did the unique slur that Hyde adopts. Even the weird distorted electronica ended up snagging my ears. By the time I finally sat down to write this, I couldn’t help but put it in the “Good” section. It is a good example of their musical variety, which is not a quality that really comes up in most discussions of L’Arc~en~Ciel.
THE BAD
Forbidden Lover
“Forbidden Lover” is not necessarily a terrible song. It begins very slowly, with vocals that sound a bit monotonous. Gradually the song builds to the chorus, with stronger guitars and a more interesting vocal line. The main flaw with this song, actually, is its position on the album. If it had been placed as the closer, it would have gently eased the listener out of the album with its powerful chorus and memorable climax. As the album-opener, though, it fails; it lacks the energy to grab your attention and make you eager to hear what comes after it. In the end, while not a bad song, it is just an uninspiring effort by L’Arc~en~Ciel.
Larva
As a combination piece with “Butterfly’s Sleep”, “Larva” works well. On its own, though, it is just a mundane techno song that is forgettable as soon as it has led into its companion song. There’s not really much more that can be said about it, since there literally is nothing more to the song than what I’ve already mentioned. Its presence is unnecessary, because it adds absolutely nothing to the album, musically. In fact, it even detracts from it, because its position smack-dab in the middle of Ark breaks up the growing momentum from the earlier songs.
The Rating: 6
Reviewed by: dheu
