Ether
Artist: Remioromen
Album: Ether
Musicians: Maeda Keisuke (bass), Fujimaki Ryouta (vocals/guitar), Jinguuji Osamu (drums)
Composer/Lyricist:
Release Date: 9 Mar 2005
| Ether - Remioromen Tracklisting 01. Shunkashuutou *Bold titles - recommended listening. |
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OVERVIEW
A relatively recent band, Remioromen was formed in 2000 by three childhood friends. That friendship comes out well through their music, because their sound is very light and very enjoyable, and it’s clear that they are having a good time doing something they love. Their style is similar to that of The Pillows and Asian Kung Fu Generation; if you enjoy either of those bands, you will probably like Remioromen. Ether is the band’s second full-length album. While it’s not music that will make your jaw drop in amazement, Ether is a good album of light fluff that will make your day just a touch more cheerful.
THE GOOD
Haru Keshiki
“Haru Keshiki” has a rather normal song length of 4 minutes and 10 seconds, but it feels a lot shorter. It speeds through those minutes too quickly for my taste, because inevitably I always want to hear it again after it is complete. Everything in the Remioromen style works here: vocals, guitars, drums, even key changes. “Haru Keshiki” features some of the strongest vocals on this album. It also has off-beat drum work that adds an urgent edginess to the sound as well as a melody that drives the song straight through to the end, leading the listener forward with a sense of purpose. This is, plain and simple, the most enjoyable song on this album.
Dog Year
“Dog Year” benefits from being the shortest song on Ether, because the entire song has a focused sound that some of their other songs lack. The melody is not that exciting, but thankfully that is offset by the guitar work, which is some of the most interesting on this album. With an organ as backup to the guitar and the vocals, “Dog Year” definitely has a unique sound, which is nice and refreshing at this point in this album.
Umi no Ballad
“Umi no Ballad” begins with a pretty piano introduction that is slow and thoughtful. But the highlight is a melody that is beautiful, with a chorus that flows effortlessly through their beloved key changes. The vocals are also very strong here. This song doesn’t involve anything strenuous for the band or technically impressive, but it is very nice to listen to and an excellent way to close out this album.
THE BAD
Akashia
This song is not terrible by any means; I’d even call it fairly good. But it is plagued by a problem that comes up frequently in Remioromen songs: key changes. As I’ve briefly mentioned above, Remioromen is head-over-heels in love with key changes. It seems like you can’t hear a song of theirs without one. But in “Akashia,” key changes occur so frequently that it’s difficult to know what key the song is actually supposed to be in, particularly during the chorus. That’s not a bad thing on its own, but the vocals aren’t strong enough to sound confident with all the changes, which leaves the listener off-balance and unable to truly relate to the melody. The off-balanced feeling is only heightened by the wishy-washy ending, that tapers off rather than actually concluding the song.
Satsuki Ame
When I sit down to give an album my full attention for review, I usually take down notes as I listen. Typically I get a paragraph of notes for each song. But all I could think to write down for “Satsuki Ame” is “meh.” At first, it was hard for me to pin down exactly what makes this song so generally “meh.” In the end, I realized that it’s just an inferior effort by Remioromen. The guitars in the beginning are promising, but then a chaotic drumming spree and a melody that doesn’t really go anywhere ruins the effect. The strange synth effects in the background just make things cheesy. The song ends up going nowhere. At the end, five minutes of your life are gone, and while they haven’t been wasted per se, you don’t really want to lose another five in the same way. And that, I suppose, is the definition of “meh.”
The Rating: 6
Reviewed by: dheu
