Moon Gold
Artist: The Pillows
Album: Moon Gold
Musicians: Sawao Yamanaka (vocals, guitar), Yoshiaki Manabe (guitar), Shinichiro Sato (drums), Kenji Ueda (bass)
Composer/Lyricist: Sawao Yamanaka
Release Date: 21 June 1991
| Moon Gold – The Pillows Tracklisting 01. Kimi ga Iru *Bold titles–Recommended listening |
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OVERVIEW
Moon Gold, a deceiving name, resembles The Pillows’ first, solid attempt at a full album. With twelve tracks, the album was a standard, and it could not go wrong, seeing as how the previous two “miniature albums†were creative works; however, that early creativity had been strained here. Variety was not Moon Gold’s priority, apparently. Though the beats were “varied,†the basic sound was not. The guitar sustains a consistent whine that will be characteristic of the band’s style; however, with this comes no sense of variation, for the majority of the songs on Moon Gold are just rearranged notes of the previous track. This is not gold, let alone “moon gold,†which must be damn precious.
Despite the album being almost a yawn-fest at times, there are some admirable songs, songs that are uniquely toe-tapping. The album is pretty “catchy,†as the band had intended it to be. But such efforts to make every song a “dance hit†have made it more redundant than necessary. Moon Gold was only a small step for The Pillows, but it was progression, nonetheless.
THE GOOD
This is My Fashion
I feel sorry for “Kimi ga Iru.” It’s a catchy little song, but the following track, “This is My Fashion”, took a dump on it. Coming packed with sixteen or so more batteries, this song has more energy, and hence more dance-inducing power, than the former. I don’t know what Sawao is singing about, but that doesn’t matter. Perhaps what makes this song stands out from all the rest is its awkward line, ‘This is My Fashion.’ What is your fashion? I give it props for being awkwardly cool, awkwardly catchy.
I Got A Feeling It’s Gonna Rain
With less of a pop sound, this track is not very danceable, but it has the most unique sound on the album. The lead guitar has established some intriguing riffs, along with the perfect bass, that will just force your ears to tingle. And what about Sawao’s strange “Aoow! Aow, aow, aow� I give it props for being strangely good, strangely intriguing.
Hello Girl
I love the guitar solo. It is The Pillows’ best guitar solo. In fact, the earliest albums, including Moon Gold, was Manabe’s peak, when he played his absolute best. This gets props for having excellent guitar work. But, I’ve got to give it slops for being the worst display of unmanliness. I can’t shake off the thought of a couple of guys going “Hello Girl!†in their most unmanly voice–mind as well be “Hello boys!†Recommended, nonetheless.
THE BAD
Sayounara Tansai Wakusei
Yawn.
Asoko he Kaeritai
I somewhat like this song for being a tiny bit catchy, but I also really dislike this song because it sounds incredibly pop with its high-paced repetition. It’s much harder to enjoy compared to the other songs. This one just endlessly, and annoyingly, beats you, from the left eardrum to the right eardrum. It wasn’t a yawn-fest like the last track, which could have stoned anyone to death with its lameness and horrible synthesized sound samples. But “Asoko he Kaeritai” was quite lame in its own right.
These two songs are kind of bad, wouldn’t you agree?
The Rating: 6
