Furu Anime Panikku

I finally got down to writing about Radwimps’ 5th album which I’ve been looping ever since it came out on the March 11. I’m not much of a music critic, but due to my inability to suppress my fandom for the band, I shall have a couple of comments to go along with each track.

Let’s start off with the album’s title, 「アルトコロニーの定理」, a coined phrase by Noda.  あるところに (Arutokoroni) is a fairytale-like phrase, which translates to “In a certain place”. Besides that, アルト (Alto) describes the range he managed to be able to sing in this album, and コロニー (Colony) gives the feel of not being alone. 定理 means theorem. Noda loves math, and hoped for this album to be able to serve as an answer to some of life’s mysteries, just like how other theorems would serve as an answer to a problem.

Now, for the music.

タユタ (Tayuta)

This song wasn’t exactly impressive on the first listen. I found the sound a little dull, and it took couple of listens before I got used to it. Not exactly the best way to start off an album, but it’s decent after a couple of loops.

おしゃかしゃま (Oshakashama)

This song is a huge leap from the previous track. Instead of the calmness タユタ possessed, it starts of with some guitar distortion, soon jumping into some fast paced music and vocals. The song stays upbeat through it’s entire length, and considering the fact that Radwimps excels in fast paced tunes, this totally doesn’t disappoint.

However, what I love more than the instrumentals is Noda’s lyrics. Noda has openly stated in interviews that he doesn’t believe in god, which is probably why he could come up with such lyrics. Critically written, those words are a great assurance that Noda hasn’t lost his touch despite the long break.

バグパイプ (Bagpipe)

The song’s name originates from the introduction which sounds bagpipe-ish. The first of the 2 full English lyrics songs in this album, some parts didn’t make much of any sense to me. The song revolves around Noda’s breakup with a girl, and while the lyrics did managed to do a rather decent job of reflecting the story, I felt that this song might have been better had the lyrics been in Japanese instead. Damn, I have such a bias stance when it comes to lyrics written by Japanese artistes.

謎謎 (Nazonazo)

I hated the synthesizer-like sounds that the song began with. It would have been much better if the band left it out. However, the simple yet poetic lyrics salvaged this song, and it’s one of my favourite tracks in the album. I often find myself singing the chorus when I’m not listening to any music.

Despite looping the album more times than I can count with my fingers and toes, I’m still wondering what the thing that Noda sings about is. Maybe there just isn’t a single answer to it. Hence, the apt title.

Just one thing. Leave out the synthesizer-like sound out of future songs, please!

七の歌 (Nana no Uta)

I was amazed to find out that the intro of the song was made up of 17 different recordings, all done by Noda. I actually thought the band got a choir of some sort involved in the recording. By just listening to the beginning of the song, I was expecting it to be a ballad of some sort. Yet, it turned out that this song contains some of the fastest rap in the album. Combine that with some lyrics that are hard to pronounce and you get a tongue twister. I’m in total awe at how the rap goes on like a rattling machine gun.

One Man Live

This song reminds me of BUMP OF CHICKEN’s Stage of the Ground as both of the songs have a slight similarity in their meanings; They are songs of encouragement. The guitars during the chorus are really awesome.

ソクラティックラブ　(Socratic Love)

This song is full of crazy rap portions which I will probably not be able to catch up with anytime soon. My lungs hurt while I tried to sing along with this song.

Also, I like how the intro sounds like a telegram being sent, placing the focus on the drums. Just listening to this song gets me slightly high and wanting to rock my head to the beat while I’m on the train even though it’ll make me appear as an idiot.

メルヘンとグレーテル (Meruhen to Gureeteru)

As implied by the title, Fairytale and Gretel, this track seems to contain a magical fairytale feel. The “Once upon a time” feel. Then again, maybe it’s just me?

For those who have listened to ふたりごと (Futarigoto) in the previous Radwimp’s album, you would realise an obviously familiar phrase. That’s because this song is indeed the promise which was made in ふたりごと. It’s cool how the 2 songs have a relation linking them together.

雨音子 (Ameotoko)

Yet another song fully written in English. Some parts of the lyrics sound weird, but overall, the catchy love pop song feel’s nice. I think I’ve mentioned this before, but this song does remind me of a mix between 傘拍子, from the previous album, and Chara’s ラブラドール. Both songs were written by Noda.

オーダーメイド (Order Made)

This song has been out for more than a year already, and while the lyrics deserve praise, I doubt I’ll need to say anything about a song that has already won a couple of awards and tons of positive commentary.

魔法鏡 (Magic Mirror)

The introduction of the song can be described as instant rush of ecstasy. Other than that, while this song has a rather catchy tune, I found myself not really liking it as much as the other songs on the album. Maybe I need slightly more time for it to fit in.

叫べ (Sakebe)

Listening to this song is a great way to start off the day. The lyrics are similar to that of 夢番地 from the previous album, mentioning the past and present. However, this song emits a vibe filled with positivity, one that encourages living like today is the first and last day.

My favourite portion of the song, the guitar solo, was awesomely done.

37458 (Minashigo Hacchi)

Yay, more playing around with numbers in song titles, Radwimps style! Since the name is related to Orphan Hutch, it should be quite obvious that the lyrics would have a link to the series. Looks like I’ll have to watch it to further understand what Noda’s writing about. This sounds like a nicely paced ballad, but the lyrics are totally not what a ballad would contain.

Out of all the songs in the album, this is definitely the most suitable song to bring the album to an end. Order Made might have been good too, but I still like 37458 better.

****

Here’s a brief summary of what I feel about the latest Radwimps album:

+ Great lyrics as usual. Even the ones that confuse the hell out of me are still present. Noda’s magical touch is still there.

+ The bands level of playing seems to have improved since their last album.

- No matter how I try, I still regard RADWIMPS 4 ~おかすのごはん~ as the best Radwimps album as of yet.

Altocolony no Teiri is a great album, and I might go as far as saying that it might be one of the top 3 albums of 2009 for me, or even the best. Still, there’s still plenty of time left this year, and BUMP OF CHICKEN might just manage to slip in an album release. Here I am, hoping for that miracle to occur.

Also, I hope that I may have convert a reader or two into a Radwimps fan. While saying that they are the only band other than BUMP OF CHICKEN that has remained on my playlist for more than a year isn’t exactly the best persuasive statement, they’re a truly amazing band.

P.S. It’s been ages since I put in so much effort into a single post.