Pied Piper is the new studio album from the famous Japanese rock band the pillows. With more than fifteen albums under their belts, many people already balked at Pied Piper at the very announcement of its release, as ‘just another album from the pillows‘ (not the hardcore fans of course, cheers!). But, I have to disappoint the booers the ‘fans already fed up with the pillows sound’, because Pied Piper is pretty much has everything a fan could wish to hear from their favourite band. It’s fresh, it’s rocking, it’s fast, but slow when it has to be, it’s cool, it’s deep, err… it’s… the pillows

At the official pillows myspace there is a translated article by Sawao Yamanaka on Pied Piper (the original Japanese article can be found here). The explanation by Sawao (lead vocals and guitar) helps us to understand the songs and the whole album a bit more. If you have time and if you enjoy the album check it out, because this kind of additional information can change the perception of a few tracks from bad to good (or vica versa, but this hopefully won’t be a scenario ; ).

1. Pied Piper
2. New Animal
3. No Surrender
4. Last Holiday
5. Tokyo Zombie (The Knock Came at Dead of Night)
6. Across the Metropolis
7. Purple Apple
8. Tokyo Bambi
9. Ladybird Girl
10. That’s a Wonderful World (Song for Hermit)
11. Poison Rock’n'Roll

The albums starts off with the title track Pied Piper, which beings with a slow, ‘magical’ intro and then switches to a bit faster paced ‘pillows trademark’ song (you can check this out on Youtube).

This album also has the the obligate sad, love-song, Last Holiday. Compared to the other tracks, this song along with Across the Metropolis were the weakest parts of the album.

Tokyo Zombie is the only instrumental song on the album. It’s quite nice; the guitar has a unique texture to replace Sawaos vocals.

Purple Apple is the prime of Pied Piper, no arguments on this. This is the pillows. The bass line along with the funky guitar sweeps away everything on the album. It’s so charismatic and playful that’s just makes me happy every time I hear it. The chorus gives good company to this, and when the whistling part comes in, it’s just simple perfection. Hopefully this song will get a PV in the future, a ‘feelgood’ one similar to Terminal Heaven’s Rock.

The other tracks are cool also, although they were the type of songs that you have to listen a few times to get the hang of them.

This album is a good choice if this is your first encounter with the pillows and also I’m sure that die-hard fans who were a little bit discontent with the band’s latest works will like Pied Piper.

8/10

Watch the PV for ‘Pied Piper’

Official MySpace

Buy Piped Piper by the pillows

Sparkplugged Ignite! Get the news you need, get the videos you want, and don’t waste any time doing it. That’s the idea that we wanted to make happen right before we came up with Sparkplugged Ignite! Super-quick and Super-fun!

“In the Year 2000″ by Syd Mead

Ever left a comment to another commenter, and had absolutely no idea if they ever checked the post’s comment stream again? Well we’ve got a better way to connect with your fellow Sparkpluggers. It’s fairly a simple little area for discussion, and I think you’ll like it too.

While we’re on the topic of making this easier, better, stronger, and faster, check this out. An entire set of our favorite musician profiles are in one easy to find place. The info source for some supercool music .  While right now, it is only a large collection of artists, one day it might just become a very large collection of artists.

We do have a couple of other changes on the homepage as well.  Mostly little cosmetic changes in the way the page displays with a little bit of server optimization as well.  (If any of you at home are playing internet buzzword bingo, check for optimization).  Thanks to the one known as J!mi, we’ve got a new banner in the works as well.

Contests, Prizes, Giveaways, LOOT!

Sparkplugged is going to have a contest a little later.  Joining the community will give you a free entry into it.  So you can get that taken care of now!  We’ve yet to determine what sort of prizes will be going to be dishing out.  But we’d love for you to tell us what you would prefer.

Although it may look a little like this at the moment…
Step 1 - Join the Sparkplugged Community
Step 2 - …
Step 3 - PROFIT!

The contest is going to be great!  So get ready!  This is Sparkplugged!

Mecha (and hardsuits) are some of the coolest and most popular custom creations. Additionally, the anime-inspired LEGO Exo-force theme is all about mecha.

(L) MECHA Lego group pool and (R) a hardsuit creation by user mondayn00dle

There are a variety of LEGO groups on Flickr and quite a few LEGO mecha groups. Practically every creation in the group pools is stunning.

Check out these Flickr groups for more LEGO mecha action:
MECHA Lego
Lego Mecha
MECHA HUB
Lego sci-fi
Mecha Models & Art

In related news:

To celebrate the movie’s release, here’s an amazing LEGO Wall•E!!

However, the band released some very good material along their way, so we won’t starve to death : )

The band’s trademark was the husky vocals of Ogino Takahiko and the mostly melodic, but sometimes powerful guitar riffs of Taniuchi Hideki which lent an ethereal kind of feeling to their songs. Sakata Makoto was responsible for the solid bass lines and Shimizu Toshiki provided the laid-back drumbeats. Takahiko and Hideki also have an ongoing solo project right now.

Their most recent album, titled Solvent Echo was released in 2007. They release two previous albums: Denimhead (1999) and Sometimes Alone (2001).

Denimhead has a raw feeling to it with songs such as Remember for Me, Lemon Power and the climax of the album, Numb with some sick riffs. But it also features ballads like Sad Wind and Pastel Room. A brilliant debut album if you ask me.

Sometimes Alone is the weakest album of the three. It’s like the Lemon was all squeezed out at the time they made it. Don’t get the wrong idea though, there is some cool stuff on the album like Inner Light, Under Star, Karma Place. It’s just that this one hasn’t got as much power as Denimhead and Solvent Echo have.

Solvent Echo is the most mature release out of the three albums. On this disc you can find the best parts of Denimhead and Sometimes Alone combined, with some spice added to it in songs like Shining Bright Light, Dream On and many other. Baby Forever, the last track and also the prime of Solvent Echo is an epic, seven minute-long masterpiece, worthy of closing out the career of Shocking Lemon.

Along with these albums, the guys released some singles and a very addictive song titled Dirty Pretty. This track was featured on one of the soundtracks for the anime Nana. The artist for the song was credited as S-L / Brute Force. I don’t know the reason for that though, however the song simply rocks!

The band was probably most famous for performing the first two opening songs (Under Star and Inner Light) for the anime, Hajime no Ippo (Fighting Spirit).

Also, there is a PV for an unreleased song Star Star on Youtube. It’s really awesome and reflects the bands style very well. If you like it, then you will like the band’s other works for sure.

We can just hope for the guys to reunite in the future, because together they made magic!

Watch the PV for ‘Star Star’

Official MySpace

Check the samples of Solvent Echo on Amazon.com
Buy Denimhead by Shocking Lemon
Buy Sometimes Alone by Shocking Lemon
Buy Solvent Echo by Shocking Lemon

Crystal / 99% is the latest single from GOLLBETTY. It is the band’s fifth single and comes out on June 25th.

This “Crystal” is finely made. The trim and decoration carved on the song’s surface is interesting yet smooth. Each instrument is a necessary peice of the crystal. And the track is seamless.

Verses build up from the minimal vocals, guitar, bass, and drums. An accompaniment of brass fades in midway through. As the chorus smoothly hits, the brass comes to the foreground and sweeps things away.

The song is decidedly less ‘peppy’ than some of GOLLBETTY’s other work. The PV reflects “Crystal” in this way as well. g-yun’s colorful dyes and dress are replaced with black and white.

Crystal / 99% includes three tracks. “Crystal” and “99%” naturally, as well as “CONTRAIL”.

GOLLBETTY’s (ゴルベティー) music is pop-rock derived from influences of ska, rockabilly, and more. They certainly fit into the scene with female-led ska pop bands like midnightPumpkin, SKULLCANDY, FRESH CHERRY SOURCE, and Yum! Yum! ORANGE. GOLLBETTY was featured with the latter three on the Princess Ska compilation.

The seven-piece band is g-yun (vocals), MISSY (guitar), CLASSY (bass), TAKA-P (tenor saxophone), SHODAI (trumpet), HIROAKI (trombone), and MUSH (drums). They formed in 2004 in Nagoya and have since released a handful of singles and albums. They are currently signed with TOY’S FACTORY.

Watch the PV for “Crystal”:

Buy Crystal / 99% by GOLLBETTY

It’s like clipping a baseball card to your bike so it sounds like a motorcycle when you ride, but better. More akin to strapping a motor on your Huffy.

BRIT BANQUET rocking out

The new features aren’t just flashy additions to the site, they’re improvements serving a purpose: allowing everyone to enjoy (and discover) more great music and interact better.

Around 5 new things will show up here in the next few days. Some are small tweaks and others are completely new and quite cool.

I hope you’ll like the freshness coming down the pipeline. Let’s throw a party — beer’s on me!!

How come? Well, if you’ve ever watched the anime ‘BECK’ and also liked what you’ve seen and heard, then you’re a fan of Fine Lines for sure! If you loved the music Husking Bee, well that’s better yet!

The reason for all the nonsense written above is the line-up of the band. On vocals and guitar you can welcome the voice actor for the main character of ‘BECK’ and former member of Husking Bee, Kazuya Hirabayashi. Heart-warming vocals are guaranteed for sure. The other members are George Kurosawa (lead guitar and backing vocals) and Yutaka Katayama (drums). Tetsuya Kudo, the ex-bassist of Husking Bee also took part in the activities of Fine Lines until 2008 when he quit the band.

In 2003 when Kazuya Hirabayashi formed the band with the help of George Kurosawa they started out as an ‘all-acoustic’ band, but at that time they didn’t have any intention of going major. However, when Husking Bee ceased to exist the opportunity was given, so they put more effort into this new band and developed a unique music style that mixes upbeat rock with ‘folkish’/western guitar sounds. The most recent result of this is a full-length album that was released in 2007 titled ‘Substratosphere’.

Substratosphere contains thirteen tracks including two instrumental songs, so there are
eleven fully-qualified songs actually.

1 - ”Shiron” - Shiron is the first song on the album (an instrumental), it is a very melodic, quite lovable intro song. Although my opinion on short instrumental songs on albums (intros, intermezzos, etc.) is not too good (I think those could be quite a bother after the twentieth listen), I can say that Shiron can put you in right mood really well.

2 - ”Unbounded” - After the intro, Fine Lines kicks it off with Unbounded, one of the most upbeat and positive songs from the album. The riffs and the drums are powerful and the vocals are there just to top these.

3 - ”Write to Me” - This song is an upbeat one too, but it has more lyrics than the previous song; it’s also a bit more melodic.

4 - ”Turnpike” - Mellow lyrics with folk-style sounds with some rocking out halfway through the song. Very good piece if you like slower paced ballads with emotional vocals.

5 - ”Spin Into Love” - George Kurosawa shows off some of the vocal skills he has. You could think that it couldn’t be as good as if Hirabayashi were singing, but that’s wrong! The playful rock music accompanies the lower toned voice of Kurosawa very well.

6 - ”The Wind the Night When You Sound” - Compared to the other songs this could be described as one of the ‘weaker’ ones on the album. If looked at this way, it doesn’t adds too much to the album’s sound, but as an individual track it’s very good. The singing is good as ‘always’ and the music is based on western folk melodies, but it’s hard to describe, you have to listen to it yourself.

7 - ”Bronze Miscanthus” - Another instrumental. To describe it… this one could be a soundtrack to a cowboy movie : )

8 - ”I Don’t Say the Words” - This song is similar to the previous ‘The Wind the Night When You Sound’. Personally I like these two song, they’re decent ones, but they ‘won’t redeem the World’.

9 - ”Remember & Disaster” - This is the climax of the album; the lyrics, the drums, the guitar parts are top notch and everything is in place. The voice of Hirabayashi is so charged with feelings, emotions that it’s almost ‘embarrassing’ to listen, simply beautiful.

10 - ”Blaze” - Another personal favourite. Just like in the previous song the vocals are beautiful, but this one is faster paced.

11 - ”Almost There” - Hirabayashi and Kurosawa singing side by side in this mid tempo acoustic ballad.

12 - ”Small Red Light” - The most powerful ballad on Substratosphere, also this is the only song from the album which has a PV.

13 - ”Setting Sun” - Like the track title suggests, this is the closing song of the album. One of the ‘insignificant’ kinda’ songs, after a few listens it’s easy ‘to get the hang of it’.

To sum up, it’s a very-very good album. It has its high and lows like every album in history, but if you take the time and listen to the songs more than just once you will definitely come to love all of them (this was the scenario with me and if you just can’t manage with the slower songs, well then you always have the catchy ones like “Blaze”, “Spin Into Love”, “Remember & Disaster”, “Unbounded”… you just can’t help and love these)

8.5/10 (9.5/10 if I don’t count the instrumentals)

Watch the PV for ‘Small Red Light’

Buy Substratosphere by Fine Lines

Friends of the Earth Korea sponsored a provocative mural of “Dark Smoke”. It’s an ominous work of public art that’s message clearly emerges through the billowing smoke: “You’re gonna reap what you sow.”

View the full-size image

The caption reads:

In order to communicate the message that the polluted air by human finally returns to human, we did a wall painting on the outside of a building with 3.8 x 2.5m by using water paints.

via Ads of the World

GAUCHE’s second mini album, titled 青ノ世界 (Aoi no Sekai, Blue World) came out in March.

It’s seven tracks of…well, I’ll explain:

The indie rock quartet GAUCHE do their thing and they do it they do it well. They flesh out vivid, dynamic rock music that’s as blaring as it is serene. An awkward description by my book and that is terrific.

“唄声の証明” (Uta Koe no Shomei) leads things off on Aoi no Sekai. It starts something carried though the release, especially on tracks like “ハルリフ” (Harurifu?) and “クロール” (Crawl) among others.

A first impression mostly hears lead singer and guitarist Nagashima Hiroyoshi’s (長島弘佳) distinct vocals. In many tracks, his anxious and emotional yet restrained style falls in line with the previous description. The interplay between his and Nose Manabu’s (能勢学) guitar contributes to a melodic foreground. Abe Akira’s (安部光) pulsating bass provides a substantial layer that is ofter heard loud and clear while drummer Takashi Michiyo (高師三知代) puts it all together. The “GAUCHE sound” rocks on all four fronts.

GAUCHE was formed in 2002. They began performing in clubs in Chiba and Shimokitazawa. They have released a single, a MAXI single, and two mini albums. Their latest mini album was released with ZERO COOL Corporation.

Watch the PV for “唄声の証明”:

Buy Aoi no Sekai by GAUCHE

Check out more tracks and videos on GAUCHE’s official MySpace

Tuesday and Thursday is lego big morl’s debut mini album. The release includes the band’s first two singles, “ワープ” (Warp) and “moonwalk for a week”. The most recent single, “moonwalk for a week” charted inside the top five on the Oricon Indie Charts following its release in May.

The band’s strikingly coherent sound makes Tuesday and Thursday a debut release that leaves a mark. The colorful layers snugly fit together (like LEGOS? I kid) on each and every track.

Tuesday and Thursday is six tracks of unflinching, melodic alt-rock action. The mini album’s bell-shaped composition truly works. It’s not a curve of quality or intensity, but rather one of pace. The title track and “dim” kick things off, “ワープ” and “moonwalk for a week” stand tall in the center, and “テキーラグッバイ” (Tequila Goodbye) and “nice to” are the polished finishing touches.

lego big morl formed in March 2006 in Osaka. The band is Kanata Takehiro (vocals & guitar), Tanaka Hiroki (guitar), Yamamoto Shintaro (bass), and Asakawa Hiro (drums). They’re currently signed with OORONG RECORDS.

In directly related news: I’ll hopefully get to see lego big morl live at Rockだぜ!! at Zepp Fukuoka on August 9th. It’ll be a mindblowing show that features THE BACK HORN, NICO Touches the Walls, チャットモンチー (Chatmonchy), lego big morl, and tacica!!! I might have a heart attack and I can’t wait.

Watch the PV for “ワープ”:

Buy Tuesday and Thursday by lego big morl