Penalty Life
Artist: The Pillows
Album: Penalty Life
Musicians: Sawao Yamanaka (vocals, guitar), Yoshiaki Manabe (guitar), Shinichiro Sato (drums), misc. members (bass)
Composer/Lyricist:
Release Date: 6 Nov 2003
| Penalty Life – The Pillows Tracklisting       01. Dead Stock Paradise *Bold titles–Recommended listening |
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OVERVIEW
Harmonize a vocalist with a unique voice and a splendid synchronization of guitars and drums and one gets The Pillows. Although they may not be the spring chickens of the Jrock scene, they certainly are chock-full of talent that can only come with experience. “Penalty Life†is their 11th album and, for the most part, it is consistent throughout in terms of quality. This album is a nice addition for fans only familiar with the work The Pillows have done for FLCL.
THE GOOD
Freebee Honey
Hopefully a Pillows purist will not be offended by what I am about to say (although it is not anything too negative, or better yet, odd). If I had to coin an image to describe the fun, dance-inducing quality of “Freebee Honey,†it would be the scene in Bring it On where Kirsten Dunst gets uber-inspired and starts dancing on her bed with her pom-poms. Random pop culture references aside, “Freebee Honey†has an upbeat quality to it and is quite addictive. The instrumental parts only add to the experience and accompany the nice vocals. All of this guarantees entertainment and a pick-me-up (Bring it On reference or not).
I Know You
This is simply a wonderful song. It has a little emotion mixed up with an upbeat tempo that is appealing overall. While it is somewhat fast-paced, it is not wild and crazy. It is also instrumentally fun and has a way of putting a smile on a face. Just to sing, “I know you, I know you, I know you, I know you, I know you, I know you and fall in love†is just so much fun and easily brings a smile to my face. Overall, this song has a catchy tune and melody, and it is a wonderful combination of instrumentals and vocal performances.
Mole Town Prisoner
“I wonder if I am sick, so this door will never break, I need to know more about my space, it’s a penalty life.†These are the catchy lyrics of the chorus of the impressive and fun “Mole Town Prisoner.†This chorus just adds a spark to the great amount of energy already in this song. The song is lively and likable. The guitars and drums add to the happy atmosphere that radiates from this upbeat song. Best of all, it is short and sweet at only 2:15.
THE BAD
The Sun that will not rise
Do you know what is a bit peevish? When a song starts out so good and then slowly wanes. This is unfortunately what happens in “The Sun Will Not Shine.†What pushes it almost to the brink of mediocrity can be summed up with one question: It’s not over yet? Not every song can hold its own past the five-minute mark, let alone six-minute mark. “Anytime Smokin’ Cigarette†by Globe would be a good example of a song that still is going strong past the five, six, even seven-minute mark. However, the length of “The Sun Will Not Shine” leads it a boring monotony, which is disappointing considering that it had started out quite well.
The Scar Whispers, Nobody is in Paradise
From the beginning, Sawao’s vocals are almost soporific and almost like something that causes a lullaby effect. Perhaps this is to create a sobering atmosphere after the slew of energetic songs. However, to me, this seemed like a jolt of the extreme opposite of what was played before it (i.e. the polar opposite of the energetic “Mole Town Prisonerâ€). Sawao’s vocals also sound a bit grating at times. The entire song is soothing, yes, but soothing in a way that would induce sleep. While the song was not drastically long (i.e. over five minutes), it was a bit longer than it needed to be. The song, in effect, was almost draining.
The Rating: 8
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