Matthew Tsai
11/11/08, 06:24 PM
Mutyumu - il y a
Record Label: Gyuune Cassette
Release Date: September 25, 2008
2008 has been a year of releases with little staying power for me. Sure, I liked the new Unwed Sailor record a lot, Just Say Yes by Punchline was fun and who can forget The Reign of Kindo's lovely debut? But other than those, I mostly don't remember what I listened to this year. Then, some prestigious members (i.e. PDon11, lunchforthesky - all credit goes to these guys) started promoting a Japanese band called Mutyumu on the forums, and upon taking a casual listen, my musical universe was hoisted upwards and deadened in the privates. il y a, Mutyumu's sophomore record, is an absolutely extraordinary album - 100% album of the year material and 99% album of the decade contender.
"intro - ilya -" opens the album, but is no less of an intro than every other track; it's almost a shame it didn't get a unique name of its own because it's easily one of the best on the record. Listeners are greeted with beautiful, somber strings that eventually lead to an elegant melody that can only be called "epic." You thought Razia's Shadow was "epic"? As an internet resident, I can't help but think, "lol."
The intro leads quickly into "die Ewige Wiederkunft," where listeners are first treated to both Yuko Ikenaga's spiraling keys and Hatis Noit's angelic, operatic vocals. The result may be too much for some to bear; I gave up trying to absorb everything the first time around. Ikenaga is one of the most adept non-solo keyboardist in the world, whereas Noit's melodious voice carries hints of Asian pop influences on this six-minute beauty. When the two come together, the world stops and listens. Then, we get a sneak peek at what's to come five minutes into the song, when the drums pick up urgency and the guitars chug at twice the speed before returning to the opening keys theme.
Well, what is to come? "L'oeil est Dieu" is to come. It bursts and crashes, twists and thrashes, and just plain catches listeners off guard with screams and distorted guitars. Again, we are treated to Noit's wonderful voice; this time it has seemingly become more beautiful since the last time we heard it, if that were possible. "L'oeil est Dieu" ends in similar fashion to "die Ewige Wiederkunft," with the instruments increasing in speed.
"toit et moi" is a cute little ditty that lightens the mood before il y a plunges back into metal-accompanied motifs in "repetitional existence." At this point, Noit's vocal melodies begin to shed their Asian pop shells as the vocals themselves take on a deeper tone. The role of the keys diminishes for a bit on the track and a magnificent choir and string section rule the closing.
Here, il y a loses some steam. "doxa incarnate" is not poorly done - no, its horror movie-esque opening is indeed thrilling. What bothers me though, is that pig squeals make an appearance here. I'm not a big fan of the screams used in previous numbers (they weren't particularly as solid as everything else), but to layer pig squeals over more of Noit's vocals just ruins a perfectly beautiful melody. No big deal though, "doxa incarnate" quickly recovers with enhanced choir vocals and spooky organs (if you haven't yet, you absolutely must listen to the last 2 minutes of chilling piano arpeggios and whatnot).
Then, "unforgiven" takes the stand. If you don't listen to anything else from this album, listen to "unforgiven." The track starts out with a funereal piano line that's soon joined by graceful strings and chilling pick slides akin to that of Explosions In the Sky. A mini climax is reached about 1 minute into the song, as quietly crashing cymbals fill the background before calming down to beautiful vocal lines (I got the feeling that I was on some distant beach when I heard this part). Soon, momentous palm-muted guitars build to the genuine, glorious climax of the track - an "icy" post-rock riff that will worm its way into your ear and freeze you from the inside out. "unforgiven" is the meridian of il y a, and for all the Anberlin fans, it easily surpasses "(*Fin)" in terms of epic-ness. The build up is not quite as long as it could have been to acheive maximum effect, but what Mutyumu has done here will be the climax to match for post-rock bands in the future.
"raison d'etre" continues in vocals-to-post-rock-passage fashion, pleasing listeners with yet another incredible build up. Though nothing about the music is showy in any way, the whispers in "raison d'etre" do come off as a bit pretentious. Again, the flaw does not detract from the important segments of the song. "sappho" follows as the album starts to wind down with an Oriental vocal melody, but it's a misnomer, as the ten and a half minute "prayer" throttles listeners with yet another gigantic post-rock build up, complete with demanding drums, a majestic choir, frantic strings and a finally, a bleak guitar line to bring everything down.
And in the end, "hai no hi" completes il y a with a triumphant violin and piano duet. This album is one daunting journey even for the listener, but it certainly leaves a sense of satisfaction after the last note is played. I discussed several negatives, but these are negatives listeners will likely not even notice. Few albums compare in beauty and skill, and few albums will probably ever compare in beauty and skill. il y a is the kind of record fans will still be spinning 20 years down the road; it's already claimed its spot as a classic on my list.
Timbre; Explosions in the Sky; Godspeed You! Black Emperor; AOTY
myspace.com/mutyumu (http://www.myspace.com/mutyumu)
Record Label: Gyuune Cassette
Release Date: September 25, 2008
2008 has been a year of releases with little staying power for me. Sure, I liked the new Unwed Sailor record a lot, Just Say Yes by Punchline was fun and who can forget The Reign of Kindo's lovely debut? But other than those, I mostly don't remember what I listened to this year. Then, some prestigious members (i.e. PDon11, lunchforthesky - all credit goes to these guys) started promoting a Japanese band called Mutyumu on the forums, and upon taking a casual listen, my musical universe was hoisted upwards and deadened in the privates. il y a, Mutyumu's sophomore record, is an absolutely extraordinary album - 100% album of the year material and 99% album of the decade contender.
"intro - ilya -" opens the album, but is no less of an intro than every other track; it's almost a shame it didn't get a unique name of its own because it's easily one of the best on the record. Listeners are greeted with beautiful, somber strings that eventually lead to an elegant melody that can only be called "epic." You thought Razia's Shadow was "epic"? As an internet resident, I can't help but think, "lol."
The intro leads quickly into "die Ewige Wiederkunft," where listeners are first treated to both Yuko Ikenaga's spiraling keys and Hatis Noit's angelic, operatic vocals. The result may be too much for some to bear; I gave up trying to absorb everything the first time around. Ikenaga is one of the most adept non-solo keyboardist in the world, whereas Noit's melodious voice carries hints of Asian pop influences on this six-minute beauty. When the two come together, the world stops and listens. Then, we get a sneak peek at what's to come five minutes into the song, when the drums pick up urgency and the guitars chug at twice the speed before returning to the opening keys theme.
Well, what is to come? "L'oeil est Dieu" is to come. It bursts and crashes, twists and thrashes, and just plain catches listeners off guard with screams and distorted guitars. Again, we are treated to Noit's wonderful voice; this time it has seemingly become more beautiful since the last time we heard it, if that were possible. "L'oeil est Dieu" ends in similar fashion to "die Ewige Wiederkunft," with the instruments increasing in speed.
"toit et moi" is a cute little ditty that lightens the mood before il y a plunges back into metal-accompanied motifs in "repetitional existence." At this point, Noit's vocal melodies begin to shed their Asian pop shells as the vocals themselves take on a deeper tone. The role of the keys diminishes for a bit on the track and a magnificent choir and string section rule the closing.
Here, il y a loses some steam. "doxa incarnate" is not poorly done - no, its horror movie-esque opening is indeed thrilling. What bothers me though, is that pig squeals make an appearance here. I'm not a big fan of the screams used in previous numbers (they weren't particularly as solid as everything else), but to layer pig squeals over more of Noit's vocals just ruins a perfectly beautiful melody. No big deal though, "doxa incarnate" quickly recovers with enhanced choir vocals and spooky organs (if you haven't yet, you absolutely must listen to the last 2 minutes of chilling piano arpeggios and whatnot).
Then, "unforgiven" takes the stand. If you don't listen to anything else from this album, listen to "unforgiven." The track starts out with a funereal piano line that's soon joined by graceful strings and chilling pick slides akin to that of Explosions In the Sky. A mini climax is reached about 1 minute into the song, as quietly crashing cymbals fill the background before calming down to beautiful vocal lines (I got the feeling that I was on some distant beach when I heard this part). Soon, momentous palm-muted guitars build to the genuine, glorious climax of the track - an "icy" post-rock riff that will worm its way into your ear and freeze you from the inside out. "unforgiven" is the meridian of il y a, and for all the Anberlin fans, it easily surpasses "(*Fin)" in terms of epic-ness. The build up is not quite as long as it could have been to acheive maximum effect, but what Mutyumu has done here will be the climax to match for post-rock bands in the future.
"raison d'etre" continues in vocals-to-post-rock-passage fashion, pleasing listeners with yet another incredible build up. Though nothing about the music is showy in any way, the whispers in "raison d'etre" do come off as a bit pretentious. Again, the flaw does not detract from the important segments of the song. "sappho" follows as the album starts to wind down with an Oriental vocal melody, but it's a misnomer, as the ten and a half minute "prayer" throttles listeners with yet another gigantic post-rock build up, complete with demanding drums, a majestic choir, frantic strings and a finally, a bleak guitar line to bring everything down.
And in the end, "hai no hi" completes il y a with a triumphant violin and piano duet. This album is one daunting journey even for the listener, but it certainly leaves a sense of satisfaction after the last note is played. I discussed several negatives, but these are negatives listeners will likely not even notice. Few albums compare in beauty and skill, and few albums will probably ever compare in beauty and skill. il y a is the kind of record fans will still be spinning 20 years down the road; it's already claimed its spot as a classic on my list.
Timbre; Explosions in the Sky; Godspeed You! Black Emperor; AOTY
myspace.com/mutyumu (http://www.myspace.com/mutyumu)