Corky Voce - Ambient Dreamer

Corky Voce
Ambient Dreamer
[Corky Voce; 2009] 
7.6










Back when I listened to a huge pile of releases back in January 2010 from Comiket 77, Ambient Dreamer left a strong impression on me with some of the strongest tracks from the 600+ songs from the 100+ albums, EPs, singles, etc. I downloaded. The high points in Corky Voce’s debut release, I either forgot or, even worse, ignored the flaws that plague the album from being the best release from December 2009’s Comic Market.

Ambient Dreamer is an album that knows damn well what to do two-thirds the time, but is far too timid to carry it all the way each time or gets so caught up in what it’s doing that it goes overboard the other third. I’m going to hazard a guess that they like vocal manipulation software. Layered recordings (マトリョーシカ), echoes (Inner Heart), fidelity (楽園 -シントニック・コンマ-), a very-light pinch of the robot-voice effect that’s is on every other song in Daft Punk’s Discovery (practically every song), duets with second member Kei Fujiyama (Good Day), the list goes on. While Sayaka Horise does have a good mellow voice, the moment she makes her pitch higher is when everything falls apart.  If you have ever listened to Radiohead, you might have noticed that with each passing release, Thom Yorke sounds whinier and whinier to the point of annoyance. Now imagine that but higher pitched and more irritating.

That’s right. Sayaka Horise is trying to out-Thom Yorke Thom Yorke.

What genre is Ambient Dreamer? Hard to tell because they get around to various sounds, such as the paint-by-the-numbers J-Rock (いざない), post-hardcore (Ambient Dreamer), Hard Rock (マトリョーシカ), etc. This is no surprise to anyone who has known the groups past contributions and their flexibility.

The songs themselves range from great to mediocre, and the reasons behind it being mediocre make you sincerely wish it was crap. However, don’t fret because it's still one of the most solid releases from the 77th Comic Market. 風車 has a childish nostalgic feel to it and a solid musical transition. The piano melody of 楽園 -シントニック・コンマ- would fit perfectly at one of those retro soda shacks and is the one time that Horise’s high pitched squeals work and would blend into the song list of pop’n music perfectly. マトリョーシカ is my personal favorite track with a Barracuda-esque opening rhythm, a post-punk touch, and guitar solos that are just as catchy as the lyrics, and blueNote’s opening could very well be a darling homage to Endroll by Mass of the Fermenting Dregs. Despite the name, title track Ambient Dreamer doesn’t have even a shred of ambience in it, but has guitar work that sounds like a really clean Number Girl. Hell, Inner Heart sports more of a dreamy vibe by simply having a soft guitar with a bit of reverb.

It’s so weird to think that the songs that I’m practically tripping over myself to praise share the same compact disc as those that feel like B-Side material or have such a sudden change at the halfway point it will have you eyeballing your media player in amazement as the track number stays the same when it clearly is an entirely new song altogether. 蝶’s first third says “I’m easy-listening with a traditional Japanese influence”, while the other two-thirds sounds like BeForU if they were more intricate.  いざない displays the nadir of Horise’s vocal talents, and Good Day’s mellow stride is constantly interrupted by angst-stained squawks that should have been its own song.

I want to love everything about this album, but it has many missteps and songs that stick out like a sore thumb that would be suited for a more light-hearted release. It’s difficult to not be tsudere for Corky Voce’s debut. Instead of scrapping the laid-back records, we get these weird bipolar vocoded Frankensteins. Maybe next time Sayaka Hirose and Kei Fujiyama will learn to correct the mistakes made here and polish their strong suits. Looking over the flaws, what makes this album so strong is that it stands out from many other doujin releases by besting most circles in technical skill, production, and being damn catchy. Ambient Dreamer is a collection of songs with radio-appeal, which is surprising because so few circles lack such gusto to be talented and daring while still being accessible.

Phonotaxis - Phonography

Phonotaxis

Phonography

[Phonotaxis; 2008]

4.9

I must admit I found this because of Doujincore, a site that uploads doujin music X times (read: whenever the fuck they feel like it) a week. The only reason I bothered listening to this as because of the main post having the words “This is not the shit I’m looking for.”. Given the heavy bias for J-Core on the site, I decided to download this for shits and giggles, hazarding the guess that it was probably ambient or mellow, and I hit the nail on the head. Still, I wondered why the hate right off the bat, as much worse shit has been shared on their servers for seven days, more deserving of verbal assault, so only why do they feel to call out an album now?

All of the tracks have a bit of ambient influence in them, but utilize it in different ways. flashback utilizes instrumentation and vocals, but feels too uniform to prove of any interest. The polyrhythm drum and bass sections in the second half of bulbous scape overshadow the forgettable first two and a half minutes. harmonoise desperately tries hide the fact that the piano playing is dry, lifeless, and forgettable with crackling static. Despite being the longest song on the album clocking in at over eight and a half minutes, tight light go space has neither buildup or payoff and even less variation. orange is the highlight and the keeper of the release, implementing jazzy rhythms and instrumentation styles with soft synths in background. One of my biggest issues with Phonography are the inconsistent pause times between songs, with some ranging between 5 seconds to a near whole minute.

So nearly 40 minutes of music later, I finally find the answer to the question I asked myself earlier: It’s because it wasn’t lively enough like their precious J-Core. These are the same people who turned their nose up towards the zenith of C77 SUBHUMAN while not batting an eye at an extratone-heavy fecalrocket like PURE EXISTENCE. I can just see them rolling their eyes while groaning when having to upload something that doesn’t average 170 BPM. What rational reason would their be to let a whole load of crappy albums slide without a well-deserved slap upside the head and feel the need to call out something like Phonography that is merely mediocre at worst? Genre-racism.

Blasterhead - Blasterhead Works 1995-2003

Blasterhead
Blasterhead Works 1995-2003
[Blasterhead; 2003]
5.0





I remember listening to Blasterhead's first original album back several months ago, gnashing my teeth after every track, criticizing the fuzzy recordings, and the abuse of the hardcore bass beat for track after track after track. I dismissed it as complete and utter garbage and a ghastly selection of songs for one to choose for their first album. Upon a second listen, I have grown fond of several of the tracks. However, enjoying five or six tracks out of sixteen doesn't really bode well, since that still leaves you with the other two-thirds being hard to keep down inside my "J-Core"-jaded stomach.

Much like the chillout/ambient techno Retake and the dnb/breakbeat sora nuxx, BW95-03 takes a different direction with the genres prominently displayed, with hardcore/acid techno being dominating the 67 minutes on the compact disc. Guitar loops play a huge part in BW 95-03, including in the acid techno opener Shadow Under The Shadow. If you hate Alec Empire, don't feel ashamed if you skip Pop Chaser, Hurry Up Pizza Boy, Do It Runrun, and Friendship. Coastal Waters And Wood gives listeners a vague idea of what to expect from sora nuxx. After we take another acid techno detour with Girls On The Palmtop, we return to hardcore. R-99 is strikingly similar to Do It Runrun if slowed down, and the resemblance 4M L.E.D.-G vs GUHROOY's ErAseRmoToR maXimUM is humorous. The jewel of the album Fire's bass drills are delicious, and Close Your Eyes (GB Edit) proves that chiptune can have pretty music as it fades in and out, bringing Blasterhead's first real release to a close.


This isn't anywhere close to as bad as I recalled it being, but it's still a far cry from his future releases like the two albums mentioned early on in the review and Killbots EP if you are a fan of chiptune. To those who were unimpressed with BW, give the other releases a chance. You may be pleasantly surprised.