- アローンアゲイン、ワンダフルワールド
- サイケデリズム
- はじめてのXXX
I know they say not to judge a book by its cover, or in this case, a band by their name, but I had a pretty good feeling about Plastic Tree going into their latest single. Maybe it’s because of the slew of mediocre albums I’ve been listening to lately, but アローンアゲイン、ワンダフルワールド (Alone Again, Wonderful World) is undoubtedly a solid effort.
No, it’s more than that. The single, which marks the band’s 15th anniversary, is a fantastic effort. After all, with all those years of experience, they’re bound to get it right. And they do — on the vocals, instrumentals, everything. Even “はじめてのXXX“, a playful/casual dialogue track with helium-pitched background vocals accompanied by an electronic beat and light drumming, is surprisingly listenable. However, it’s mostly a novelty effect and wears off after a few listens.
Which is not a bad thing at all, given that the two other tracks are probably more deserving of attention. I’m hardly a heavy metal fan, but “サイケデリズム” does a great job of combining the heavy-hitting sound with the vocalist’s melodic voice. In fact, I’m quite fond of the vocalist (Ryutarou Arimura). His voice is somewhat soothing — dare I say, ethereal — and never resorts to the full-out screaming that others are sometimes prone to. I guess it has to do with the fact that the instrumentals are subdued when he’s singing, making it sound as if he’s singing above the music, instead of with — and being drowned out by — the music. Of course, whether or not this floats your boat is subjective.
I had a hard time finding a favourite track to begin with, but now the definite winner is “アローンアゲイン、ワンダフルワールド”. The steady strumming of an electric guitar and/or the hitting of drums or cymbals is dispersed throughout to form the beat. However, the song is prevented from sounding too fragmented by transitioning seamlessly to and from a more — for the lack of a better word — upbeat segment, namely the chorus. Of course, all this is helped along by the vocalist, whose voice is all the more pacifying in the brief harmonizing bits.
Overall, this is a pretty great single and serves as an appropriate milestone. I’ll definitely be looking more into this band and I hope you will too. Just as a final note, the CD only and CD+DVD versions have different tracklists — the CD version is listed above, while the CD+DVD lacks the final track and includes instrumentals for the first two. If you’ve got some spare cash lying around, I say go for the CD+DVD. The last track is pretty much a filler so the DVD might do you more good. Title track PV after the jump.
