Polished sound recording. Sung in Japanese, although they repeat the title of the track (in English) in most songs. I’m supposing it’s FCC clean. Hard rock music based on guitar power chords with pedal tricks and strong vocals but the mandolin adds a nice backing melody. I want to say they remind me of the Hives, especially when it comes to delivering vocals, at the beginning of the CD. At the end they kind of simmer down and remind me a bit of Jeff Buckley. Their sound really changes from beginning to end of the record. Definitely some bluegrass influence in a few songs.
Try #6, 7, 8
1. Nice acoustic opening. Good for people who like loud, noisy, experimental guitar chords. The mandolin in the background makes you realize you’re not listening to any old indie group.
2. Not as good as the first song. A lot of screaming on the part of the singer. Not particularly moving. Fractured guitar chords.
3. Less hard rock than the fist two songs. Harmonica in the chorus. Sounds like a ballad.
4. Back to the banshee vocals. Unimpressive guitar. Plain noisy. Skip it.
5. Slow song. Bass and mandolin in the background. Recording sounds less professional, vocals stand out.
6. Mandolin opening. Back to the polished recording sound. Bluegrass influences. Sounds like country music with a rock twist, except, well, it’s in Japanese.
7. Slightly more experimental mandolin opening. Nice juxtaposition of guitar and mandolin. Vocals are nicely subdued (for them).
8. Instrumental song, led by guitar chords but supported by other string instruments. Best song to introduce the band with.
9. Another instrumental song. Really long. Could work well as a soundbed for the first few minutes.
10. Starts slow, picks up near the end. Heavy use of bass. Would make a good soundbed.
11. Slow song, background piano, which I had not heard before on the record. Sounds like a ballad. Harmonica in the middle. Second half of the song sounds more like the rest of the CD. Comes back down at the very end.
12. Again the country influence. Slow, heavy bass throughout the song is what leads it along. Is the exact opposite of the songs at the beginning of the CD; slow and kind of mournful.