Beeps, blips, and boops -- part the second: in Japanese!

There's a lot to be said for how one's own musical history influences a recording career.

If you were to tell me that anemone, a young (thirty-one) Japanese artist whose music would best be described as "Imogen Heap in Japanese", had studied all sorts of music -- including jazz (she played the alto saxophone in her school band), rock (performed lead vocals in an all-girls' hard rock band), reggae and folk, just to name a few -- I'd probably call you crazy. However, after listening to anemone's major-label debut album CLASSICS., that opinion would most surely have changed.

Although the music on this album sounds more like a bunch of computer-generated crystalline blips, beeps, and other random sound effects -- in essence, what one would typically think of when they hear the word "ethereal" used to describe music -- if one listens closer, beneath all the surface noise, there are subtle hints of many of anemone's past influences that have woven themselves into the fourteen tracks presented here. A few examples:

- From anemone's spiritual and jazz side, we're given SANATORIUM, whose skip-a-beat skittish rhythm, airy-sounding backup singers, and organ-like instrument give the song a slightly reverent feel. anemone's vocal fluctuates in volume and intensity, from softer and more restrained in the verses to powerful, more passionate in the pre-chorus and chorus, as if she's addressing a higher power with an urgent plea. It's really quite haunting.

- yoake brings out the folk and traditional influences, utilizing very little in the way of instrumentation (a strong keyboard beat, simple guitar line, and a slightly R&B-twinged backbeat) and allowing anemone's vocal to really shine and soar. Even then, there's very little in the way of vocals -- much of the song's atmosphere is created simply by the instrumental part, and anemone's vocal only adds to the mystique. It's a track that's at times both modern and very much classical.

- Pop and rock sensibilities are mixed with a slight hint of techno on anemone's most popular single, shintou. It's probably one of the album's fastest-paced pieces, and also one of the most well-done. A fine job was done of mixing the more untraditional elements with standard pop conventions (such as anemone's signature "ethereal-sounding" backing beats with strings, guitar, and a drum machine), and the song shows. The chorus is catchy, with anemone putting her all into the performance.

Although I've selected these three tracks as representative of anemone's stylistic influences, one can choose almost any track from the album (save for the interludes) and find a hint of just about any of anemone's musical loves. That's part of what makes this album so good -- it's a hodgepodge of styles all mixed with some very modern elements. anemone's vocal is the string that ties it all together and, while she's not the best vocalist in the world (on her official website, she admits to a bit of tone-deafness), she puts enough emotion into her performances to overcome any vocal shortcomings.

What does hurt the album, though, is also what makes it so good. Although the album flows well from track-to-track, the mishmashing of genre can often interrupt the flow as the listener has to adjust to yet another stylistic surprise. In addition, anemone's vocal can be a bit shrill at the top of her register, which she utilizes in a number of tracks. It's not particularly bad, just a bit distracting.

With a heavy heart, I'm giving this four stars instead of five. (Half-stars would really come in handy for this type of situation!) It's not quite five-star material, due to the lack of a cohesive style and occasionally jarring vocals, but the innovation and uniqueness of the material, coupled with several really memorable tracks (shintou being the most memorable) make this worth a listen. It's a shame anemone probably lost her major-label deal because of this, since innovative and unique music is something the Japanese scene needs a heavy dose of right about now.

anemone: "CLASSICS."
[ CDA | UMCK-1171 | ¥3,059 | 2003.11.05 ]

01. VIBES [ 0:36 ]
02. hachigatsu no ORANGE [ 4:27 ]
03. SANATORIUM [ 4:30 ]
04. natsu wa yuugure [ 4:27 ]
05. kaze ni shinaru [ 4:21 ]
06. yoake [ 3:20 ]
07. ai no mama ni (yuuyake mix) [ 6:00 ]
08. BLANKET [ 3:15 ]
09. kokoro no soba ni [ 4:04 ]
10. shintou [ 4:35 ]
11. hamon [ 0:24 ]
12. koko nikite [ 3:57 ]
13. binetsu [ 3:21 ]
14. CLASSICS. [ 4:05 ]

[ http://www.anemonet.com/ ]
[ http://www.universal-music.co.jp/anemone/index2.html ]

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