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| Japancakes The Sleepy Strange |
| Monday, March 24, 2008 |
The Sleepy Strange, Japancakes' sophomore album (and last record in Darla Records' reissue campaign) found the band honing in on the sound that makes them oh-so special. For the first time, the pedal steel takes a lead role in the band, propelling the band's overall sound into a dreamy space wonderland. The album title is 100% correct; it is "the" record, the record is very "sleepy," and it is, in its way, quite "strange." It's strange in the sense that the music is practically 'new age,' definitely 'ambient,' rather 'country,' yet it cannot be truly called those things. I can only think of one artist to compare this record to, and that is the painfully obscure Transparent Music, the debut album by pedal steel maestro, BJ Cole. To make it stranger, the songs on that record sound like Japancakes outtakes, yet those songs are all classical compositions!
See how appropriate this album title is?
Ultimately, The Sleepy Strange is where Japancakes became the band we know and love today. The album's sole flaw--and it's more a personal taste thing than a true flaw--is that the songs, while gorgeous, seem to ramble on a bit too long. Then again, that's not a criticism of the actual music, so maybe I shouldn't have brought it up. "The Waiting" is eight minutes of pure heavenly bliss, a gentle, relaxing ride up the stairway to an aural paradise. So is the next song, "Disconnect the Cable." Same thing for the next song, "This Year's Beat." What of the next song, "Vanishing Point?" I'm sure you can see where I'm going here.
The Sleepy Strange is a lovely little record from a highly talented band. It's a record any band should be proud to release, and saving it from the dustbin of obscurity was a wise decision.
Listen To: "Vanishing Point"Labels: Darla Records, Japancakes, Reviews J |
posted by Joseph Kyle @ 12:33 PM  |
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| Japancakes Down the Elements |
| Thursday, March 20, 2008 |
Down The Elements, a four-song EP, appeared next, and was a bit of a departure from If I Could See Dallas. It's succinct; it's darker, and it's a bit more captivating. The band's maturity is obvious. The EP doesn't contain what has become their patented gentle, country-flavored space rock; instead, its four tracks are deep, heavy explorations of straightforward "rock," and it's quite satisfying. By "deep, heavy" I mean "long," as two of the four songs break the ten minute mark; the title track is over fifteen minutes. Down the Elements was a bit of a clearing-house for this big rock sound, and served a purpose as a one-off experiment. What appeared next, however, would be a definitive statement.
Listen to: "Sputnik"
Down the Elements is available now on Darla RecordsLabels: Darla Records, Japancakes, Reviews J |
| posted by Joseph Kyle @ 5:17 PM |
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| Japancakes If I Could See Dallas |
| Wednesday, March 19, 2008 |
If I Could See Dallas, Japancakes' formidable debut album, is very much a record of its time. Though there are hints and traces of the wonderful country-space rock that would become their trademark, the band obviously displays the rather common trademark sounds of independent rock, circa 1998. I bought this album when it first came out, and thought it was a bit too derivative of other bands I liked at the time--Tortoise, primarily, but also other bands, many of which are more obscure than Japancakes!
To be fair, though, If I Could See Dallas is Japancake's debut, and it suffers from the malady common to most debut albums: lack of focus. As a basic rule, a debut album should never be nearly eighty minutes long, especially an album that contains soft, gentle instrumental music. If two or three songs had been omitted, Dallas would have been a stronger, more cohesive album. It's hard to stay focused (and, well, awake) with so much content.
Faults aside, it's hard to criticize Dallas for its musical content. The band's trademark sound had yet to be fully realized; it's interesting to hear them take on more traditional post-rock, such as "Westworld" and "Elevator Headphone." And their country space-rock style can be heard on "A Short Mile" and the gorgeous twelve-minute "Elephants." But I have a special love of the final song, "Allah Rahka," an eight minute rock jam, full of sitars, drums, violins, and a swirling psychedelic melody.
If I Could See Dallas is an enjoyable record, though perhaps too long. Its length does not negate its quality, and the record definitely set the marker high for the band's future.
Listen To: A Short Mile"
If I Could See Dallas is available now on Darla RecordsLabels: Darla Records, Japancakes, Reviews J |
| posted by Joseph Kyle @ 5:11 PM |
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| Japancakes Loveless/Giving Machines |
| Tuesday, December 11, 2007 |
Athens' instrumental country space-rockers Japancakes took a few years off, and in the interim have presented two new albums for your new consideration; one of which you've probably heard of, and the other, probably not. Yes, Japancakes received a great deal of attention for their album Loveless, which, technically, isn't their record at all. It's a song-by-song cover of the seminal My Bloody Valentine album. Instead of overwhelming melodies and blissed-out guitars and righteously wonderful singing drowned out by white hot noise, Japancakes have rendered and reworked Kevin Shields' masterpiece into something soft and tender and sweet and relaxing--at times, their versions almost qualify as Musak. The novelty of this release has earned them some attention, but I'm not entirely satisfied with Loveless. Oh, don't get me wrong, their arrangements are definintely pretty, and it's Japancakes at their always-enganging best, but the original album is such a unique and brilliant work, after a while, I get bored with what they're doing and wish to listen to the original.
Giving Machines, their latest album, is a much more satisfying affair. Other than a cover of Cocteau Twins' wonderful "Heaven or Las Vegas," it's all original compositions, and it's fine material at that. The band certainly has not lost any of their charm, and the material here is, well, classic Japancakes. It's big, grand instrumental passages that blend quiet harmonies and atmosphers with rustic, simple instrumentation. By that, I mean pedal steel. I am reminded of pedal steel master BJ Cole and his 1990s experiments with electronica. In my mind, that sort of sums up Japancakes: an electronica-composing country band. Much like Loveless, this record is also quiet and pretty and subtle; what they do, they do well.
I'm really can't think of what to say about their music, because, really, what more could I say? Japancakes' music is special, and if you know their music, then you know just how damn good their music is. If you don't, there's really no better place to start than Giving Machines. I do recommend Loveless, but not to the new; there's so much more to this veteran band than a one-off cover album. If you're wanting more, word has it a reissue campaign will soon take place, bringing all of those classic early Japancakes records back to a store near you--so there's plenty of activity going on for those enthralled by them. (I am, can't you tell?)
Listen To: Lalita (from Giving Machines)
Listen To: When You Sleep (from Loveless)
Giving Machines and Loveless are available now on Darla RecordsLabels: Darla Records, Japancakes, Loveless |
| posted by Joseph Kyle @ 12:16 PM |
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