Once upon a time...
Written: Jun 25 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: A rock album with variety? All right! Rainy ~ai no shirabe.
Cons: May seem same-y to some listeners.
The Bottom Line: They may not be inspired by God, but Janne Da Arc provide quite a good listen!
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| shimatani87's Full Review: Another Story - Janne Da Arc Movies |
"Have you heard of Janne Da Arc?"
"You mean that girl who said she heard the voice of God and then lead the French to victory against the British at Orléans?"
"No, they're a Japanese rock band..."
It's tough to make it, sometimes, if your band name happens to be very close to that of a rather famous historical figure. However, the aforementioned Japanese rock band (whose name does not come from the famous Jeanne d'Arc, but rather a character in the manga Devilman) has managed to avoid the name confusion and become rather well-known in the extremely-saturated Japanese rock scene.
Formed in or around 1996 (give or take a few years since I'm unable to find an exact date), the five-man group (consisting of vocalist yasu, guitarist you, bassist ka-yu, keyboardist kiyo, and drummer shuji), the group released their first (independent) discs in early 1999, quickly signing with and releasing under avex trax shortly thereafter. While comparisons to other Japanese rock groups are inevitable (mostly due to the large number of all-male rock bands that release in Japan), Janne Da Arc features a rather retro, lighter, keyboard-driven style of rock (with the occasional harder tune thrown in for good measure), making them a unique listen.
ANOTHER STORY is the band's fourth album. The album gets its title from the "story" told within the lyrics of the album's songs -- there are certain lyrics in each song (written in red text in the album's booklet) as well as three short instrumental tracks that contribute to the tale being told. (Unfortunately, since I don't actually own the album, I can't tell you the story.)
Although knowing the story that gives the album its name might be helpful, what we're here for is the music, and this album does a lovely job of giving the listener their daily rock fix. At first glance, the tracklisting may seem long -- and it is. Take away the three "story" interludes, and we're left with thirteen actual songs; then, however, subtract the three songs released as singles prior to the album and we're still left with ten completely brand-new songs -- a lot in an industry where some albums have as few as four or five.
I'm not the world's biggest rock fan, but Janne Da Arc does quite a commendable job here, stylistically. The songs, for the most part, are quite similar in their instrumentation -- lots of drum-backed verses with guitar riffs in-between they and the louder choruses (the single MARIA no tsumeato or VAMPIRE, for example), but even within this oftentimes formulaic style, the band manages to inject a surprising amount of variety. There are the aforementioned "stereotypical" rock numbers, but the band shows several different sides to themselves throughout the album -- akai tsuki, for example, lets kiyo come to the forefront and headline one of the album's more downtempo, keyboard-driven tracks, while the single kasumi yuku sora se ni shi te takes the band down a lighter, more pop-rock-sounding path (complete with the other band members providing backing vocals).
The biggest surprise, however, comes when the band pulls out all the stops and serves up the epic eight-minute piece that is Rainy ~ai no shirabe~ (which was later recut into a single of its own). While it eventually ends up turning into a midtempo ballad that's not all that different from many other midtempo rock ballads, it's the atmosphere the song gives off (very ethereal, with a lovely orchestral opening complete with one of yasu's best performances on the album) coupled with the well-oiled machine that is the band at its best (that is, everyone's on the same page and no one's getting smug with their part) that makes this track work. Sure, it's not much different from every other lengthy rock track out there, but it's one of the band's best and all-encompassing works.
Aside from the occasional jerky transition from a harder-edged number to a lighter one (the biggest being the transition from "Rainy" to "Shining ray", which feels very forced and anticlimactic, as if they had to shove that track somewhere and thought the very end would be most fitting), the album's got very few negative spots. Sure, one can raise the argument that it's just another rock album except with a little less edge, and it may just be that, but Janne Da Arc is a band that manages to take a timeless genre like rock and put their own individual spin on it. ANOTHER STORY is truly an excellent album, and comes highly recommended.
Janne Da Arc: "ANOTHER STORY"
[ CDA | AVCD-32006 | 3,059 yen | 2003.02.13 ]
01. "1/5 no otobako" [ 0:43 ]
02. in the story [ 4:51 ]
03. MARIA no tsumeato [ 4:38 ]
04. OASIS [ 4:17 ]
05. akai tsuki [ 4:00 ]
06. "ubawareta chie"[ 0:16 ]
07. suicide note [ 3:24 ]
08. What's up! [ 4:57 ]
09. PARADISE [ 3:57 ]
10. explosion [ 4:08 ]
11. kasumi yuku sora se ni shi te [ 3:38 ]
12. VAMPIRE [ 4:21 ]
13. "shoujo to koori no joou" [ 0:50 ]
14. rasen [ 5:35 ]
15. Rainy ~ai no shirabe~ [ 7:57 ]
16. Shining ray [ 3:58 ]
[ http://www.avexnet.or.jp/janne ]
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
shimatani87
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Member: Zach Jones
Location: Urbana, IL
Reviews written: 117
Trusted by: 17 members
About Me:
St. Louis-bound graduate student with a passion for pop.
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