Japan’s answer to the Beatles and the Pixies are back, and they’ve made an album that calls back to their 90’s roots. Ah, the good ole days have returned!
The title track is quite the hip-shaker; and it puts anyone listening into a groovy trance, just as the man from Hamelin would. “New Animal,” their most recent single, wakes up every sense in the body; and would give anyone a sudden burst of energy. “No Surrender” is the track that truly calls back to the band’s glory days; when they released four masterpieces in a row (“Please Mister Lostman,” “Little Busters,” “RUNNERS HIGH,” and “Happy Bivouac”). It’s got just a little bit of magic from each of these four CDs rolled into one song; making it clear that songwriter Sawao Yamanaka truly was listening in to what his fans were clamoring for.the pillows - NEW ANIMAL
“Last Holiday,” another track that would’ve fit with the band’s Big Four, just about matches up with “One Life” as one of their most beautiful and lighter-in-the-air-inducing ballads. “Tokyo Zombie (The Knock Came At Dead Of Night),” a fun little instrumental, is quite the monster; stomping its feet and destroying everything mediocre in its path. “Across the metropolis,” a B-side from the “Tokyo Bambi” single is the only real misstep in this album; though the Beatles homage in the chorus is kind of nice. “Purple Apple,” the album’s first English song, doesn’t make much sense; but its happy-go-lucky beat makes it quite the enjoyable track.
the pillows - Ladybird girl
“Tokyo Bambi,” which gets some horn help with the guys from the Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, is a poppy ditty that’s perfect for any party needing life. “Ladybird girl,” originally released a month after their last album, was the first track that showed the fresh new path that the pillows wanted to walk on; and it’s still fresh to this very day. “That’s a wonderful song,” which is dedicated to their friends Hermit, is a 60s-inspired rock song that sounds like it could’ve been perfect for a young Paul McCartney. The album ends with “Poison Rock’n’Roll,” the album’s other English track. It starts off soft, and then goes into a riff that literally sends a message to the people that don’t like their ever-changing sound: “If you’re dissatisfied, disappear.”
Yamanaka, Manabe, Sato, and Suzuki are always making sure their albums never sound the same; but they also want to make sure that everyone recognizes that it is a pillows album. They succeeded very well in doing just that with this recent CD. “PIED PIPER” is a solid album that not only new fans of the pillows will enjoy; but will also put smiles on the older fans that have been waiting for their classic sound to return. That wait has ended.
“PIED PIPER” gets 4 ½ stars out of 5.
This is King Baby Duck saying "If it ain't made in Japan, it's usually crap!"
Labels: J-VOLUTION, King Baby Duck, Pied Piper, pillows, the pillows
