Album: The Back Horn - 太陽の中の生活 (Taiyou no Naka no Seikatsu, 2006)11 tracks / 52:11
Acquired: August 2011
Vocals, trumpets, accordion: 山田将司 (Yamada Masashi)
Guitars, background vocals: 菅波栄純 (Suganami Eijun)
Bass, background vocals: 岡峰光舟 (Okamine Koushu)
Drums, background vocals: 松田晋二 (Matsuda Shinji)
Suddenly the random number generator picked my newest acquisition - the 6th album of one of my favorite Japanese bands, which I obtained like two days ago! I really haven't listened to this album much beforehand, and I really wanted only because it had some fairly ok songs I knew. Otherwise I have had an impression that it isn't as good as the earlier albums are. Well, we'll see about that in a short time.
At this point I really have nothing to say about that album, except that its cover art is pretty, um, striking. Let's just say that I've seen album covers that have been a bit more impressive.
1. カオスダイバー (Chaos Diver, 4:50)
The album begins with a song that sounds quite massive compared to regular The Back Horn (from now on abbreviated as TBH) standards. The guitar melodies are nice, simple yet memorable, and once again Masashi manages to take unsuspected corners in his vocal melodies, but somehow this song doesn't quite cut the mustard. It feels as if the band are holding themselves back.
TBH is especially a band that can express raw, unrestrained emotions with impressive energy, and though I am aware that not every song of theirs is flooding with anger and sorrow, this track could have used some.
7/10
2. アポトーシス (Apoptosis, 4:51)
The calm, drowsy introduction suddenly explodes into a regular rocker. However, also this song feels that they are lacking in the feeling department. Especially Masashi's vocals don't feel as amazing as they have used to. The screams in the bridge and coda sections come quite close, but still no cigar.
A quite energetic rock song that fails to stir up any big emotions for me.
5/10
3. 証明, (Shoumei, 4:38)
A slower, groovier song, that actually has a really nice beat. Also Masashi's vocals seem to have put on a spurt and have reached the level of emotion their music deserves. Especially the raw energy of his voice in the chorus really hits the spot. Once again he sounds like the singer whose fierce voice got me hooked on their music some eight years ago.
Also worth pointing out is that in this song Koushu, the bassist, seems to play as much stuff as the rest of the band combined. Impressive bass licks all over the place.
8/10
4. ホワイトノイズ (White Noise, 5:08)
A lighter, more upbeat song. The raw anger from Masashi's voice is gone, but the emotion remains. The vocals range from light whispers to stirring falsettos, and the song rolls on easily, showcasing the more beautiful, gentler side of TBH.
Though the song does not reach the pure awesomeness of their best upbeat songs, such as "夢の花" ("Yume no Hana"), it is a quite strong performance nonetheless.
8/10
5. 世界の果てで (Sekai no Hate de, 4:38)
Another upbeat, fresh song (of which vocal melody reminds me of a song by Finnish band Eleanoora Rosenholm, "Suljetun osaston astronautti"), but somehow lacks once again in the awesome department.
It's a nice song, with pretty, hum-along vocal melodies, but once again it fails to make me feel anything more than a mild interest. It's not a bad song, but I know this band can do a lot better.
6/10
6. 天気予報 (Tenki Yohou, 3:11)
Suddenly the band kicked in the weird gear. The main motif is a weird, clean guitar melody, which is played over spoken word sections by Shinji their drummer. Chorus section is a short, distant and echoed section sung by Masashi. The song closes with a chorus part accompanied with an accordion.
I really don't know what to think after this. I guess the band wanted to have fun, or something. Still, not my cup of tea.
4/10
7. ファイティングマンブルース (Fighting Man Blues, 4:15)
Opening with heavy, crashing introduction, which progresses with a fuzzy, groovy, Them Crooked Vultures -like stomping verse.
It's a groovy track, as if like being very heavy blues, having its fair share of raw anger, but also showing some more melodic and catchier sides. Not really their best work, but shows that there was music not unlike the stuff Them Crooked Vultures played many years before that band was formed.
7/10
8. ブラックホールバースデイ (Black Hole Birthday, 5:35)
One of their hit singles opens with a melodic bass line before the other instruments kick in, and the song grows into a rumbling, dissonant monster.
The song is unfortunately rather repetitive, with its quite dull, discordant verse and adrenaline-heavy punk-chorus. In my opinion the song lacks many of the melodic aspects
that make the band amazing, and only part that I really enjoy in this song is the rumbling half-tempo section in the end, otherwise this is pretty "meh" to be released as a hit single. This album really has better songs than this.
6/10
9. 浮世の波 (Ukiyo no Nami, 4:25)
This song seems to borrow a lot from the American punk-rock contemporaries. The chord progressions are definitely regular TBH, but the chorus section and some riffs bring a legion of American punk rock bands into my mind. However, this is really not a bad thing at all. The song manages to be rather ok and catchy throughout, and though is nothing that special, it still is quite interesting and pleasant a track.
8/10
10. ゆりかご (Yurikago, 5:19)
Ok, this song begins with one of the most retarded drum figures ever, and the drums stay prettu much unchanged throughout the song.
Despite that, the song rolls nicely on its own, being mostly a lightweight, pop rock song, before moving on to the heavier, fuzzier mid section and solo, that make the song suddenly a much more impressive and more massive track.
Nevertheless, the song doesn't remain that splendid, though the mid section does a lot. In the end it is one of those songs that don't move me one way or the other.
5/10
11. 初めての呼吸で (Hajimete no Kokyuu de, 5:15)
Beginning with heavily distorted bass line, and ultimately evolving into a regular TBH song, "Hajimete no Kokyuu de" is an ok way to close the album. Though at first Masashi's vocals seem to be jaded and bored, they garner suddenly much energy when the chorus section comes.
I'm just not sure if they should have moved this song closer to the beginning - now the album's stronger moments are interspersed all over the album, but they are cut off with weaker tracks. Should it have been better if all the great tracks were in the beginning, or is it good this way when they are evenly spread?
8/10
***
Final verdict
My hunch was right - this album was not up to par with the older albums by The Back Horn. In many songs it seemed that the band was lacking in ideas or direction, and though some songs had potential, they didn't manage to grasp it, making this sound mainly like watered down shadow of the older TBH.
Though some of the songs are also pretty boring as compositions, the major foible is the voice of Yamada Masashi. Up until their previous album, ヘッドフォンチルドレン(Headphone Children), his voice has been the driving force behind the whole band, capable of ranging from soft whispers to painful screams, really capable of delivering intense emotions with them. In this album, it seemed that either his voice has weakened, or he was keeping it back for some stylistic reasons or something. Whatever the case may be, the result was that the album was far less impressive than the others have been, unfortunately.
太陽の中の生活 (Taiyou no Naka no Seikatsu) is not outright bad album; just rather dull and very plain one. It may have its place in the CD shelf, but it is not in the top of the "must-buy albums" list.
At this point I really have nothing to say about that album, except that its cover art is pretty, um, striking. Let's just say that I've seen album covers that have been a bit more impressive.
1. カオスダイバー (Chaos Diver, 4:50)
The album begins with a song that sounds quite massive compared to regular The Back Horn (from now on abbreviated as TBH) standards. The guitar melodies are nice, simple yet memorable, and once again Masashi manages to take unsuspected corners in his vocal melodies, but somehow this song doesn't quite cut the mustard. It feels as if the band are holding themselves back.
TBH is especially a band that can express raw, unrestrained emotions with impressive energy, and though I am aware that not every song of theirs is flooding with anger and sorrow, this track could have used some.
7/10
2. アポトーシス (Apoptosis, 4:51)
The calm, drowsy introduction suddenly explodes into a regular rocker. However, also this song feels that they are lacking in the feeling department. Especially Masashi's vocals don't feel as amazing as they have used to. The screams in the bridge and coda sections come quite close, but still no cigar.
A quite energetic rock song that fails to stir up any big emotions for me.
5/10
3. 証明, (Shoumei, 4:38)
A slower, groovier song, that actually has a really nice beat. Also Masashi's vocals seem to have put on a spurt and have reached the level of emotion their music deserves. Especially the raw energy of his voice in the chorus really hits the spot. Once again he sounds like the singer whose fierce voice got me hooked on their music some eight years ago.
Also worth pointing out is that in this song Koushu, the bassist, seems to play as much stuff as the rest of the band combined. Impressive bass licks all over the place.
8/10
4. ホワイトノイズ (White Noise, 5:08)
A lighter, more upbeat song. The raw anger from Masashi's voice is gone, but the emotion remains. The vocals range from light whispers to stirring falsettos, and the song rolls on easily, showcasing the more beautiful, gentler side of TBH.
Though the song does not reach the pure awesomeness of their best upbeat songs, such as "夢の花" ("Yume no Hana"), it is a quite strong performance nonetheless.
8/10
5. 世界の果てで (Sekai no Hate de, 4:38)
Another upbeat, fresh song (of which vocal melody reminds me of a song by Finnish band Eleanoora Rosenholm, "Suljetun osaston astronautti"), but somehow lacks once again in the awesome department.
It's a nice song, with pretty, hum-along vocal melodies, but once again it fails to make me feel anything more than a mild interest. It's not a bad song, but I know this band can do a lot better.
6/10
6. 天気予報 (Tenki Yohou, 3:11)
Suddenly the band kicked in the weird gear. The main motif is a weird, clean guitar melody, which is played over spoken word sections by Shinji their drummer. Chorus section is a short, distant and echoed section sung by Masashi. The song closes with a chorus part accompanied with an accordion.
I really don't know what to think after this. I guess the band wanted to have fun, or something. Still, not my cup of tea.
4/10
7. ファイティングマンブルース (Fighting Man Blues, 4:15)
Opening with heavy, crashing introduction, which progresses with a fuzzy, groovy, Them Crooked Vultures -like stomping verse.
It's a groovy track, as if like being very heavy blues, having its fair share of raw anger, but also showing some more melodic and catchier sides. Not really their best work, but shows that there was music not unlike the stuff Them Crooked Vultures played many years before that band was formed.
7/10
8. ブラックホールバースデイ (Black Hole Birthday, 5:35)
One of their hit singles opens with a melodic bass line before the other instruments kick in, and the song grows into a rumbling, dissonant monster.
The song is unfortunately rather repetitive, with its quite dull, discordant verse and adrenaline-heavy punk-chorus. In my opinion the song lacks many of the melodic aspects
that make the band amazing, and only part that I really enjoy in this song is the rumbling half-tempo section in the end, otherwise this is pretty "meh" to be released as a hit single. This album really has better songs than this.
6/10
9. 浮世の波 (Ukiyo no Nami, 4:25)
This song seems to borrow a lot from the American punk-rock contemporaries. The chord progressions are definitely regular TBH, but the chorus section and some riffs bring a legion of American punk rock bands into my mind. However, this is really not a bad thing at all. The song manages to be rather ok and catchy throughout, and though is nothing that special, it still is quite interesting and pleasant a track.
8/10
10. ゆりかご (Yurikago, 5:19)
Ok, this song begins with one of the most retarded drum figures ever, and the drums stay prettu much unchanged throughout the song.
Despite that, the song rolls nicely on its own, being mostly a lightweight, pop rock song, before moving on to the heavier, fuzzier mid section and solo, that make the song suddenly a much more impressive and more massive track.
Nevertheless, the song doesn't remain that splendid, though the mid section does a lot. In the end it is one of those songs that don't move me one way or the other.
5/10
11. 初めての呼吸で (Hajimete no Kokyuu de, 5:15)
Beginning with heavily distorted bass line, and ultimately evolving into a regular TBH song, "Hajimete no Kokyuu de" is an ok way to close the album. Though at first Masashi's vocals seem to be jaded and bored, they garner suddenly much energy when the chorus section comes.
I'm just not sure if they should have moved this song closer to the beginning - now the album's stronger moments are interspersed all over the album, but they are cut off with weaker tracks. Should it have been better if all the great tracks were in the beginning, or is it good this way when they are evenly spread?
8/10
***
Final verdict
My hunch was right - this album was not up to par with the older albums by The Back Horn. In many songs it seemed that the band was lacking in ideas or direction, and though some songs had potential, they didn't manage to grasp it, making this sound mainly like watered down shadow of the older TBH.
Though some of the songs are also pretty boring as compositions, the major foible is the voice of Yamada Masashi. Up until their previous album, ヘッドフォンチルドレン(Headphone Children), his voice has been the driving force behind the whole band, capable of ranging from soft whispers to painful screams, really capable of delivering intense emotions with them. In this album, it seemed that either his voice has weakened, or he was keeping it back for some stylistic reasons or something. Whatever the case may be, the result was that the album was far less impressive than the others have been, unfortunately.
太陽の中の生活 (Taiyou no Naka no Seikatsu) is not outright bad album; just rather dull and very plain one. It may have its place in the CD shelf, but it is not in the top of the "must-buy albums" list.
Score: 65/100
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