Artist: The Pillows
Album: White Incarnation
Musicians: Sawao Yamanaka (vocals, guitar), Yoshiaki Manabe (guitar), Shinichiro Sato (drums), Kenji Ueda (bass)
Composer/Lyricist: Sawao Yamanaka
Release Date: 21 May 1992

White Incarnation - The Pillows Tracklisting01. Colorful Pumpkin Fields 02. She’s My Sister 03. Sitting on a Paper Moon 04. Kono Mama Koko de 05. I Want To Be Salivan 06. Ki ni Shitenai yo 07. Blue March 08. Yoake ga Yattekita 09. Tonight 10. Bokura no Hare Suisei 11. Good Night *Bold titles–Recommended listening

OVERVIEW

With Yamanaka being the only song writer, the band’s style revolved around him. As time progressed, though, a young musician does learn, and a young musician does grow. Sawao Yamanaka had come to the pivoting point in his music career. From an artistic view, this album was a revolution for the band, for they had experimented with new sounds, new lyrics, new beats. But from an economic standpoint, the album faired moderately. But they were not the “hyped rock stars” they deserved to be; their popularity did not reflect their talents. Though the band’s fan base was growing slowly (but surely), they will be, in later years, further accepted among the people as their style develops, and as their reputation for being a wildly imaginative troupe explodes.

White Incarnation was not the first step. The band had always had their infinite creativity within them, which they had shown in their mini-albums, Pantomine and 90’s My Life. However, this full album exhibits a more refined Pillows, with a bit more of a thrash (particularly with “I Want To Be Salivan”). This album surprised me with its few goodies, and I have come to love it as a whole more than some of their later, better works.

THE GOOD

Sitting on a Paper Moon
The Pillows pull their usual tactic: make a catchy song, and it will become a good song. However untrue that may be for Moon Gold, this song exceeds being just catchy. It presents an ingenious atmospheric sound (later perfected in future albums) that is soothing. Paced just right, the song plays with its vocals and guitar to produce a pulsing, transcendental song. Relax. Dream.

Kono Mama Koko de
As a soft ballad at first, “Kono Mama Koko de” transitions, with incredible timing and perfection, into a swell of emotion after a moving guitar solo. The pathos built in the first few minutes, aided by a stark drum line, powerful guitar work, and soulful vocals, will absorb you, and you cannot help but to connect with Sawao as he progresses into the last few minutes. The song ends with a quiet silence. And so be the listener.

I Want To Be Salivan
The introduction of this song makes it a particular interest, as The Pillows had such a unique hook. I could not help but listen on, “What comes after all that racket and the cries of ‘It wasn’t me! It wasn’t me!’?” With its crazily addictive chorus and Sawao’s off-the-wall vocalizations, the song stands as one of the most toe-tapping tracks, and one of my, and many others’, favorite. Applaud for Shinichirou because he does a brilliant job setting the pace of the song and also for Manabe, who completes the experience with a sick riff. The band had a momentous instance of being “a band” here: their emaculate chemistry carries a vibe across your headphones, the vibe of the band.

Tonight
“Tonight, I want to keep on smiling.” Followed by a soft whistle, the chorus sounds ridiculously cheesy in text, but when the song itself is heard, that line resonate with emotional connection. One can say that it is Sawao’s fine-tuned singing, those “woo hoo”s, that gentle whistle, or that soothing guitar that gives such a simple sentence power. The song is this one line. And that is all it needs; that is all we need.

The Rating: 9