It's very rare to hear of a Japanese rock band without also hearing the words "visual kei" alongside the band's name.

It's also very rare that a Japanese rock band is named one of the ten best bands on planet Earth.

However, both of these distinctions happen to be applicable to the currently-on-hiatus Japanese rock trio known as the brilliant green. From their humble beginnings in 1997, Kyoto-born Tomoko "Tommy" Kawase (vocals, lyricist), Shunsaku Okuda (bass/acoustic guitar, composer), and Ryo Matsui (electric/lead guitar, occasional composer) have since gained fans all around the world with their quirky lyrics (in both English and Japanese) and memorable melodies; all of the above, when combined, create a sound that's uniquely theirs, leading the band to be recognized in Time Magazine's September 29, 2001, "Music Goes Global" issue as one of the ten best bands outside of North America.

After the success of their third album Los Angeles, the band took a short hiatus while Tommy focused on a solo career under the name "Tommy february6". When that project's initial phase was completed, the band reunited in 2002 and released three singles and then this album, their fourth (and, to-date, final); the album is highly regarded as one of the band's finest works, even though it's their lowest-selling album.

Time's Rhett Butler described the band's music as "ambiguously playful", and I can't help but agree -- the band, whether playing harder rock tunes or simple acoustic-led tracks, never really seems to take itself too seriously (as reflected in Tommy's oft-funny English lyrics, such as the track FUNNY GIRLFRIEND!! from their second album; the entire track is dedicated to Tommy's "AB RH minus" friend who enjoys nothing more than riding her pink bicycle while wearing different-colored socks, probably doing so while drinking tequila, as that's the only thing she drinks. On Tuesday.*). One thing I can't agree with is the title of the album itself - the music here is hardly "wintry", with the only track even resembling that kind of sound being the intro.

Instead, the album is a decidedly mixed bag, and one of the caveats I have with the album is that it can't really decide where it wants to go or what it wants to be. Is the band trying to emulate the American/British rock sound (the band has often been compared to the Beatles, at least stylistically, and have cited that group as inspiration, and when they rock out, BuriGuri can sound quite like several notable female-fronted bands -- for some odd reason, the only one I can think of being the GoGo's), such as on the harder, grinding electric guitar-led single I'M SO SORRY BABY), or are they aiming for a more mainstream sound (the still electric, but handclap led Holidays!, moody English number Running so high)? Tommy's vocal, while being consistently good, is a bit shrill at times as well, but never so much to make one want to turn the disc off.

However, regardless of the genre, the band manages to use whatever sound they decide to play with to its full effectiveness; even when they're echoing other acts, the sound is uniquely "green" and easily identifiable, even during the slower numbers (slightly dreamy, acoustic The night has pleasant time, sunny, midtempo ending track escape) Even so, I'd say the best cuts on the album are the ones in which there's an equal amount of sound-borrowing and originality (the decidedly chilling single Forever to me ~owarinaki kanashimi~, whose guitar riffs, atmospheric organ, and moody vocals from Tommy call to mind the band's earlier hit tsumetai hana; rollicking, slightly 80's infused all-English pop song That boy waits for me, which seems to borrow a bit from Tommy's side project).

Even with all the good tracks here, the best track, by far, exemplifies what the brilliant green is all about - rock mixed with pop, great vocals, and a hook-laden melody, as demonstrated in their second "return" single, Rainy days never stays. From start to finish, the song is a masterpiece of sound, featuring well-crafted acoustic lines amid a catchy drum beat during the verses, a heavier chorus featuring that ever catchy title-hook, and happy, inspirational lyrics from Tommy, sung with all the passion of a kid who's finally gotten to go outside ("'Raining all day' going away, step out to be myself again / I want to chase it, It's an amazing day!"). This is, quite possibly, the group's best. song. ever.

So, while they've yet to release anything since this album, the brilliant green left us, their listeners, with an extremely well-made album featuring some good tracks, some great tracks, and some tracks that just should not be missed. Check this out if you've not heard the band before, because it's a great place to do so!

the brilliant green: "THE WINTER ALBUM"
[ CDA | DFCL-1087 | 3,059 yen | 2002.12.04 ]

01. intro -THE WINTER ALBUM- [ 1:04 ]
02. Holidays! [ 3:12 ]
03. Flowers [ 3:59 ]
04. I'M SO SORRY BABY (album mix) [ 4:49 ]
05. Forever to me ~owarinaki kanashimi~ (album mix) [ 5:04 ]
06. That boy waits for me [ 4:38 ]
07. The night has pleasant time [ 3:22 ]
08. Day after day [ 4:52 ]
09. Rainy days never stays (album mix) [ 3:52 ]
10. I'M JUS' LOVIN' YOU (album mix) [ 3:30 ]
11. Running so high [ 3:28 ]
12. escape [ 4:24 ]

* For those interested, the entirety of FUNNY GIRLFRIEND!!'s lyrics can be found under the brilliant green's section (the song's on the TERRA 2001 album) at the excellently-awesome Cori's website (http://www.corichan.com).

Recommended: Yes