Living Field
Artist: The Pillows
Album: Living Field
Musicians: Sawao Yamanaka (vocals, guitar), Yoshiaki Manabe (guitar), Shinichiro Sato (drums), Tatsuya Kashima (bass)
Composer/Lyricist: Sawao Yamanaka
Release Date: 24 Mar 1995
| Living Field – The Pillows Tracklisting 1. Angel Fish *Bold titles – recommended listening. |
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OVERVIEW
The Pillows’ sixth album, Living Field, is infatuated with one concept: soothe. It has the strongest reggae influence of all albums, and the nature of reggae is obvious: soothing. The genre can be epitomized by a steady, calm beat, which is what almost the entirety of Living Field is. Every song acts almost as a tranquilizer, and at times, I found myself in a solemn trance or asleep. It could be said that, in general, this is a “boring” album, with its low volume, softness, and overall lack of “Naked Shuffle”. However, I would say otherwise, particularly when the track “The Killing Field” breaks the mold. Songs like “Native World,” with their apparent reggae influence, are hypnotic and in the very least, intriguing. The openers, “Angel Fish”, “Sunday”, and “Daydream Wonder” might be quiet sleep-music, but their value is still high with complex instrumentation and vocalization. It is hard to pick out a “bad” song, but several songs are mediocre; of course, not displeasing enough to warrant complaint. Living Field may be the least energetic of The Pillows’ albums, but its mastery in the art of composition, production, and demonstration outshines the dull.
THE GOOD
Sunday
“Sunday” reminds the listener of a beloved person or a beloved place. It inspires a desire to “return home” or to “wait forever” for one’s lover. As romantic as it is, the song remains simple. There are no extensive guitar solos, the percussion remains consistent, and the bass is quite simply played; however, with its tranquil opening and whispering vocals, it maintains an honest emotion, acting as a force of pathos. “You got to take a train, a ship, a bus…” Sawao sings in his storyteller tone… and I believe.
The Killing Field
Like “Naked Shuffle” from Kool Spice, this track rotates the album upside-down. The motifs of calmness are forgotten, and instead, phrases like “I don’t care! Tell me what I look like!” overtake the situation. The Pillows show that they can be years ahead of themselves with this creative work: the instrumental work is ridiculous, from the wild bass to the guitar to the drums. The lyrics are so out-of-the-box crazy that only songs found in future albums can match. The track is almost annoying in its disruptiveness of the album. After two very demure songs, “Girlfriend” and “Something like a Romance”, “The Killing Field” is like a hip-hop track in the middle of a children’s Twinkle-Twinkle Little Star sing-along. The transition between tracks may not be smooth, but it does represent an attempt to stay out of the norm, to be different. The quality and distinctiveness of each song in the second half of the album would further emphasize this idea.
Happy Slave
There is no doubt that this is a “Good” song. Its unique sound is comprised of bold guitar work and sound effects. Catchy and upbeat, “Happy Slave” feeds off the energy of “The Killing Field”, making it a true toe-tapping track. The song concludes in chaos, with a perplexity of laughter and shouts and finally digresses into a stillness of piano and ambience. I like this song for its uncommon compilation of sounds and its end result, which is not just a mish-mesh of garbage, but an organized, synchronized effort. In effect, the song is genius in its own complication.
Native World
It’s hard to review a favorite song. In fact, I have many ‘favorite’ songs from The Pillows, but this one stands in a different line. Though yet again, I have no clue as to what Sawao is singing, I have faith in what I hear, and that is ambient beauty. Talking about a favorite song must have bias as it pertains to emotion. Being that music is a form of emotional communication, it is hard to be completely unbiased in any review. One may love this song, but most will find it unbearable. But, for me, the ambience, the reggae and the vocals work, just like some kind of magic. I fell in love overtime as, not just this song, but the entire album grew on me. It could be that my sole reason for adoring this album is this one track. But it could also be that from this one track, I learned to like the rest.
The Rating: 8
Reviewed by: Tamashii
