So I've listened to the album several times now, and got to watch the music videos too. Envy and Hang a Vulture are basically the band playing the song through; Vulture uses a highly stylized camera filter and there's some calculated lag in the video. Nothing special, seems like they just threw the videos together for the special edition CD/DVD combo.

Anyways, on to the album proper: it's not bad, there's some catchy stuff here. But it's not stellar either, and contrary to the little hype that's been going on here, Stroll and Roll and Moondust both easily top this album, in my opinion. Random observations from Nook...

- I like where the pillows were trying to go with Envy. It sounds different than what the band has been trying to do lately. The bass line is awesome, and the guitar tone is pretty cool. Someone else said Vulture sounded like a fully realized Predators song, but I think Envy fits the bill for that, and it sounds excellent.

-Be Your King and Perfect Idea are your middle of the road songs. I still don't know why Be Your King was chosen as the single, or at least as the "showcase" song. It's kinda like Comic Sonic. Yea, it's decent, but it's just... there. Both songs I just mentioned are easily forgettable when held up with the rest of the pillows' expansive discography. What was the word we used a few albums ago for songs like this? Boilerplate, I think? That's apt for these two.

- Hang a vulture! is fun. I love the crunchy tone; it reminds of Sleepy Head. Plus that guitar line in the verse is pretty catchy and really makes me want to get moving along with it.

-Coooming sooon is an absolutely goofy song, which I admit has a really catchy chorus. I can already envision people doing a dance kind of like the hokey pokey when the "dance dance dance pure dance!" comes up. Decent guitar solo too. New-born baby also has a notable guitar solo, and a prety killer one too. It might be my favorite on the album, but man... the Engrish just kills it. Yea, it's [i]technically[/i] grammatically correct, but what the hell is he talking about? Which leads me to my next point...

-After an album with no ridiculous Engrish songs, we pay the price by having [b]three[/b] on this album. Seriously, if Sawao thinks this is just a gimmick or something, it's well run it's course. Please just stop. There are a bunch of Japanese artists out there that do Engrish songs, but they're crafted much better and are much more intelligible (i.e., Straightener's latest album from this past summer). Sawao just makes a fool of himself, and I'd love to show people some of these songs, but how the hell am I supposed to tell someone to take a look at a song called "She looks like new-born baby"? There are people out there that are better at English than you Sawao. Get a clue, find them, and stop with the nonsense, please.

-Pulse is nice for the ballad/slow song/whatever on this album. Definitely better than Blagodarnost. The drums are hypnotic, kind of in the vein of The Sun That will not Rise from PL. Sato does a nice job, especially when he crashes in to the chorus and ups the intensity. Another beautiful guitar solo here, too. Excellent melody, and Sawao's voice isn't too bad here. It doesn't sound as strained as it does on some of the other "ballads" over the past decade or so.

-Zhelanie has really started to grow on me after being a bit ambivalent towards it at first. Now I think it's a stand out track for sure. I can see the similarities between it and Energiia, especially in the intro. But it's a nice laid back song, good guitar solo, and awesome melody. All great things I expect from a great song by the pillows. Be Wild is decent too, but it's not god-tier by any means. Not a lot to say about it other than another decent song, but it sounds better and seems nicely crafted as opposed to Be Your King or Perfect Idea.

-Where do I go? sounds just like the pillows' future at this point: where do they go from here? They keep churning out album after album, but with only minor deviations from their "sound" (i.e. Envy, Primer Beat, Tragedy of Elliot). I feel as if they're becoming stale... but I guess record sales tell another story in Japan. They seem to be as popular as ever, but I can't personally help but feel that we just keep getting mediocre at worst, and mildly surprising at best, albums from a band that seems to like to play it safe with it's new found (and long awaited) popularity.

The song itself is pretty forgettable, but has some nice moments in it. The blown out drums (which seems to be somewhat of a common theme on this album) are pretty cool. Nice thumping bass too, with some nice licks during the verses. I think Arie has solidified himself as a great bassist, especially after doing the majority of songs on Stroll and Roll. Is he permanently touring with the band yet, or is he just joining them in studio? Either way, I like his contributions. A quick guitar solo too, even though the song is only 1:44. I like it better as an album closer than say, Doggie Howl, that's for sure.

But then that brings me to one glaring problem I find with the album: its shortness. It clocks in at about 31 minutes, which is about six minutes shorter than Stroll and Roll. Envy, Vulture, Perfect Idea, and Where do I go? all sound like silly songs that belong at the end of a regular album by the pillows, and they're all under 3 minutes. I almost feel as if Sawao and the guys just threw this album together, saying "Hey look, we got enough songs for an album now. I [i]guess[/i] we should put this out as a record."

That's why i really don't see any "flow" on this album. The PML-RH albums, for example, gave the feel of a progression, that it was working towards something. Those albums doesn't feel disjointed. This one does, just like Stroll and Roll and Moondust did before it. These three albums act more as a simple collection of songs thrown together than something that was well crafted and finely tuned like the other three albums from the band's prime that I mentioned above. Maybe that was because Sawao had been sitting on songs like Kanojo wa Kyou and Another Morning for around 4-5 years (as we learned from the Bootleg 92-93 compilation)... and maybe that fact says something.

Maybe it's better that Sawao sits on some of these songs for a while before hastily throwing together a record. I mean, yea, I always love new material from the pillows, and I can't say I've [i][b]hated[/i][/b] anything I've ever heard from them. However, there's a fine line between "album material" and "filler/cutting room floor material". Notice I didn't mention "b-side material". That's a whole 'nother animal for this specific band and it seems Sawao carefully selects [b]those[/b] songs moreso than he does song on the album proper. The reason for this is beyond me. Anyways, it seemed like the band tried to slow down after Trial, and the results, I think were mixed. Perhaps another break of equal or longer time can recharge Sawao's batteries, but it seems like he wants to put out there whatever comes into his mind. Or who knows, maybe he's so prolific that he [b]HAS[/b] left several songs on the cutting room floor already. It's hard to say though with that info being lacking.

Either way, I'm of the opinion that Sawao needs to slow down a bit, and maybe that means putting more songs on the cutting room floor, or spending more time in crafting a good album than simply pasting a collection of songs together, which when they equal 10 or 11, get album art, a couple of music videos,a tour, and a DVD. It's time to stop gunning for the status quo and get something truly amazing out there. He can do it, no doubt in my mind.

So in summary, the album's decent, but then that's not saying much because everything since OOPARTS has been decent. It's not as good as Stroll and Roll or Moondust, but I do think it may be a bit better than, say, Horn Again. I say this because I don't see as many "top level" or "god-tier" songs on this album than the prior two. Standout songs on Nook, for me, are:

*Envy (borderline, though)
*She looks like new-born baby
*pulse
*zhelanie

As opposed to Stroll and Roll:

*Debris
*Cuckoo's Nest
*The Sun and Rock 'n' Roll
*Subtropical Fantasy
*The tragedy of Eliot

And Moondust:

*Clean Slate Revolution
*About a Rock 'n' Roll Band
*Prairie Rider
*Anemone
*Moon Dust (and maybe Happy Birthday)

I think Stroll and Roll gave the pillows a little new life with the return of Kenji, as well as an infusion of new blood with the other guest bassists. I don't think anyone can convince me that there is a better song on Nook than Tragedy of Eliot. That song was the perfect marriage of the 1st movement and the 3rd (or 4th???) movement; between old and current material from the pillows. And it just so happens that Kenji played on that song. I'd even argue nothing on Nook stands up to Cuckoo's Nest. Close, I admit, but no cigar. And again, these past several albums by the band are more an amalgamation of songs than flowing albums with a direction, IMO. The only way I can really rate these albums is by how many good songs there are. This is where our own subjectivity comes into play, I suppose, and I think albums 19 and 20 both have more going for it, overall, than the new album #21. Perhaps, after the dust has settled and we've let Nook actually sink in the brain (see what I did there?), we can get a proper ultimate album ranking going, possibly generate some real good discussion...

Anyways, yea, just my $.02.

[quote="Son Goshin"]I feel as if they're becoming stale... but I guess record sales tell another story in Japan. They seem to be as popular as ever, but I can't personally help but feel that we just keep getting mediocre at worst, and mildly surprising at best, albums from a band that seems to like to play it safe with it's new found (and long awaited) popularity.[/quote]
I think that this is a misconception. the pillows are not popular. They didn't leave Avex by choice; they left because their contract was up and Avex didn't offer them a new one since they're getting older and the album sales sucked. Sure, the pillows have a small, loyal fanbase, but they are much more of a niche thing. The average person in Japan has never heard of the pillows.
If you ask 20 random people in Japan if they know the pillows, probably 0 of them will know what you are talking about.

This is one of the big reasons why I try hard to encourage people to actually purchase the albums. Sawao has expressed interest in touring US again, so if we show them some overseas support, it might actually happen.

Also, I really don't think "She looks like new-born baby" is such a horrendous title/insult to the English language. "Oh my god! Sawao forgot to put an 'a' in there! Fuck [i]that[/i] guy!".

[quote="Marekenshin"]NOOK's got a smoother flow from track to track than the majority of albums they've done, including LB and HB. I'm not going to try to compare apples to orange juice, but this album is damned juicy.[/quote]
It's definitely true that a lot of Pillows albums don't have a real sense of flow or contour. [i]Happy Bivouac[/i] might be my favourite Pillows album but it seems clear to me that the tracklist is just made up of a bunch of songs that were thrown together on one disc rather than selected and composed to link up into one cohesive record (though I'm sure the band and label do their best to sequence the songs they have in an interesting way). Most Pillows albums seem that way to me, which I'm sure is due to Sawao's approach of writing songs for the sake of writing songs rather than for the sake of making incredible, life-changing records (otherwise, there'd be a longer gap between Pillows albums). Don't get me wrong, I'm very satisfied with getting a great batch of Pillows songs every year or two instead of a four year wait between albums that would probably only end up being marginally better than what we usually get, anyway. Still, being that they're so far in their career, I'd like to see a change up in how The Pillows make albums. I think these guys are due for a good double album.
[quote="Mafu"]I think that this is a misconception. the pillows are not popular. They didn't leave Avex by choice; they left because their contract was up and Avex didn't offer them a new one since they're getting older and the album sales sucked. Sure, the pillows have a small, loyal fanbase, but they are much more of a niche thing. The average person in Japan has never heard of the pillows. If you ask 20 random people in Japan if they know the pillows, probably 0 of them will know what you are talking about.

This is one of the big reasons why I try hard to encourage people to actually purchase the albums. Sawao has expressed interest in touring US again, so if we show them some overseas support, it might actually happen.[/quote]
I've definitely heard random people say that The Pillows are really popular in Japan, but I'm gonna trust Mafu over others on this one. Still, I woulda thought that any artist who's played Budokan could be described as very popular, unless their career has declined markedly since.

I reckon the new [i]FLCL[/i] could stir up interest in The Pillows again both within Japan and internationally. Let's hope the airing of the new seasons will encourage the band to come back to the US.

[quote="Son Goshin"]Iit seems Sawao carefully selects [b]those[/b] songs moreso than he does song on the album proper. The reason for this is beyond me.[/quote]

It's worth remembering that music is all subjective at the end of the day and as listeners we should probably recognize that artists make the music THEY like, for themselves (generally speaking). If we don't like it and we feel that the band is continuously "mediocre" or "worse," it has nothing to do with an objective measure of quality and is merely a reflection of our taste diverging from that of the artist. I know that it can be disappointing and feel like a letdown when something you look forward to ends up not living up to your desires, but I think it's a little selfish of us to always assume musicians are making poor decisions or simply not writing enough songs to have options when the outcome is not what we prefer. In particular, Sawao is a VERY prolific writer who has been known to leave plenty of songs on the roadside over the course of their career, so it wouldn't make sense to assume that they just finished 8 or 9 songs and then tossed them together, lol.

[quote="dimsim3478"]
[quote="Mafu"]I think that this is a misconception. the pillows are not popular. They didn't leave Avex by choice; they left because their contract was up and Avex didn't offer them a new one since they're getting older and the album sales sucked. Sure, the pillows have a small, loyal fanbase, but they are much more of a niche thing. The average person in Japan has never heard of the pillows. If you ask 20 random people in Japan if they know the pillows, probably 0 of them will know what you are talking about.

This is one of the big reasons why I try hard to encourage people to actually purchase the albums. Sawao has expressed interest in touring US again, so if we show them some overseas support, it might actually happen.[/quote]
I've definitely heard random people say that The Pillows are really popular in Japan, but I'm gonna trust Mafu over others on this one. Still, I woulda thought that any artist who's played Budokan could be described as very popular, unless their career has declined markedly since.

I reckon the new [i]FLCL[/i] could stir up interest in The Pillows again both within Japan and internationally. Let's hope the airing of the new seasons will encourage the band to come back to the US.[/quote]
Performing at Budokan is more of a celebratory thing rather than a popularity thing. It's probably the most prestigious venue in Japan.
The Collectors recently played their 30th anniversary concert at Budokan, and they aren't very popular either. In fact, I couldn't even find their newly released album in stores and had to order it online. The Pees will play their 30th anniversary concert there as well, and they're even less of a known band.

Oh yeah, forgot to chime in on that point, but agreed with Mafu - you can get to Budokan a number of different ways, and the fact that the pillows don't play there or similar on a consistent basis combined with their overall Oricon charting shows that while they're doing fine, they're by no means a mainstream act.

It's funny how differently people can feel towards an album, though. Eliot was my absolute favorite off of Stroll, but I feel like three or four off this album do it for me even better.

[quote="Mafu"]The Collectors recently played their 30th anniversary concert at Budokan, and they aren't very popular either. In fact, I couldn't even find their newly released album in stores and had to order it online. The Pees will play their 30th anniversary concert there as well, and they're even less of a known band.[/quote]
Always thought both of those bands were just "oldies" popular, rather than "contemporary" popular; didn't know they weren't either.

(Unrelated) Anyone know if the three music videos for [i]Nook[/i] all aired on TV on album release day, same as last year? Also, was [i]Stroll and Roll[/i] missing from iTunes for a bit after CD release like [i]Nook[/i] is?

[quote="dimsim3478"][quote="Mafu"]I think that this is a misconception. the pillows are not popular. They didn't leave Avex by choice; they left because their contract was up and Avex didn't offer them a new one since they're getting older and the album sales sucked. Sure, the pillows have a small, loyal fanbase, but they are much more of a niche thing. The average person in Japan has never heard of the pillows. If you ask 20 random people in Japan if they know the pillows, probably 0 of them will know what you are talking about.

This is one of the big reasons why I try hard to encourage people to actually purchase the albums. Sawao has expressed interest in touring US again, so if we show them some overseas support, it might actually happen.[/quote]
I've definitely heard random people say that The Pillows are really popular in Japan, but I'm gonna trust Mafu over others on this one.[/quote]

I agree. With Mafu having spent more time over there than us, I trust his judgement. But correct me if I'm wrong, the pillows have been charting higher in the last decade or so than at any other point in their career. That's what I was really getting at. Would it be wrong to say the pillows are more widely known now as opposed to say, in 2000?

[quote]Also, I really don't think "She looks like new-born baby" is such a horrendous title/insult to the English language. "Oh my god! Sawao forgot to put an 'a' in there! Fuck that guy!".[/quote]

It's a good thing I don't think it's [i]that[/i] horrendous either! It is still a pretty ridiculous title though.

[quote=Marekenshin]It's worth remembering that music is all subjective at the end of the day and as listeners we should probably recognize that artists make the music THEY like, for themselves (generally speaking). If we don't like it and we feel that the band is continuously "mediocre" or "worse," it has nothing to do with an objective measure of quality and is merely a reflection of our taste diverging from that of the artist. I know that it can be disappointing and feel like a letdown when something you look forward to ends up not living up to your desires, but I think it's a little selfish of us to always assume musicians are making poor decisions or simply not writing enough songs to have options when the outcome is not what we prefer. In particular, Sawao is a VERY prolific writer who has been known to leave plenty of songs on the roadside over the course of their career, so it wouldn't make sense to assume that they just finished 8 or 9 songs and then tossed them together, lol.[/quote]

Well, it's a good thing I didn't assume this then! I said that it "almost feels" to me that this is the case. That's how it comes off in listening to the album and knowing that there was about a year's time in between albums.

And of course the quality of the music is subjective to each of our tastes. Perhaps it is a bit selfish to think musicians make the "wrong" decisions, but this isn't something I always do with musicians/bands I enjoy. This is my opinion on the matter, and I'd love to be proven wrong in this case. For now though, I'm of the opinion that it might be better not to churn album after album out at this point. Some breathing room would be well appreciated.

[quote="Son Goshin"]This is my opinion on the matter, and I'd love to be proven wrong in this case.[/quote]

>Opinions
>Proof

Pick one, and only one, lol.

Anyway, Zhelanie lyrics are translated/posted. Will work on more another time, gotta hit the sack over here.

I was referring to how I feel much hasn't been left on the cutting room floor after personally judging the quality of the album. If there's something from an interview in recent years saying Sawao typically writes "X" amount of songs for each album cycle, and he has a clear vision for each album, that would contribute in proving my opinion of it feeling like a pasting of songs together wrong.

Anyways, thanks for translating Zhelanie. It's much appreciated!

[quote="Son Goshin"][quote="dimsim3478"][quote="Mafu"]I think that this is a misconception. the pillows are not popular. They didn't leave Avex by choice; they left because their contract was up and Avex didn't offer them a new one since they're getting older and the album sales sucked. Sure, the pillows have a small, loyal fanbase, but they are much more of a niche thing. The average person in Japan has never heard of the pillows. If you ask 20 random people in Japan if they know the pillows, probably 0 of them will know what you are talking about.

This is one of the big reasons why I try hard to encourage people to actually purchase the albums. Sawao has expressed interest in touring US again, so if we show them some overseas support, it might actually happen.[/quote]
I've definitely heard random people say that The Pillows are really popular in Japan, but I'm gonna trust Mafu over others on this one.[/quote]

I agree. With Mafu having spent more time over there than us, I trust his judgement. But correct me if I'm wrong, the pillows have been charting higher in the last decade or so than at any other point in their career. That's what I was really getting at. Would it be wrong to say the pillows are more widely known now as opposed to say, in 2000?[/quote]
The Oricon charts don't always mean a whole lot. Some of the singles will crack the top 20 in the weekly ranking for just a single week before completely disappearing from the chart. This kind of performance in the Oricon chart is nowhere near mainstream, "everyone knows about" bands, such as BUMP OF CHICKEN, Spitz, Mr.Children, or any of the ridiculous Johnny's group, idols, or teeny bopper garbage.

[size=85]Moderator Sez: remember kids, combos are for fighting games, not forums.[/size][size=50]I now realize that album lyric threads could just be in one giga post, as well...will fix that also.[/size]

[b]Envy[/b]

This is a fairly decent opener in my opinion. I’ll admit that on the first few listens I wasn’t sure where this track was going, or how it was going to sit with me long term. For some reason I couldn’t quite work out if it was the ‘japanglish’ or just the feeling that the ‘wavering’ tempo gave me. Something seemed to get me a little on edge during my first few listens though. Normally I don’t take the opening tracks too seriously, especially if they’re in ‘engrish’, when compared to their japanese counterparts, especially with the last few albums, but I hear this and I imagine the pillows just jamming out a little harder than normal in the studio, heads bobs and all. It’s not even the kind of jamming the Predators would do either. Theirs has an established consistency to it. Not to mention the predators try to ‘wax a track’ in a couple of takes as of late (Rock N Roll Pandemic).

It’s just got this edge to it that I can’t quite put my finger on, you know? I really can’t place where this would stem from in terms of the pillows earlier work either. Definitely something new. The music video looks super fun, not to mention very much a 90’s experimental session to boot. Whilst the punchier bits repeat a bit throughout the song, and the track itself is fairly simple as far as these openers go, I don’t find myself bored listening to this one on loop a couple times in a row. It’s probably those ‘head-banging’ bits that are the most fun sonically.

Personally I dig any song where Sawao gets to the top of his lungs as well. Secretly I’m hoping we all do (hit me up ‘Anemone’ fans!) I really like the pacing of this song as well, it goes between edgy riffs and then the more relaxed engrish (again, I’m okay with it). Also if there was any doubts this was a pillows track, there’s all the normal references to the sky, the clouds, heaven, god (the genius), stars and of course the sun. Who knows what the heck was going on in Sawao’s head when he wrote this one.

I think it’s also worth mentioning that the last couple of real ‘engrish openers’ we’ve had were XAVIER (Good Dreams) and RAIN BRAIN (Thankyou My Twilight), and to me this is a vast improvement on those. In terms of openers overall, I don’t think Envy can compete directly with LIMP TOMORROW (Horn Again), MY FOOT (My Foot) or REVIVIAL (Trial) but it definitely holds it’s own / knows it’s young place.

Surprise Element: This is truly a unique track from the pillows, especially for an opener.

[b]Be Your King [/b]

By the time the album had arrived in my mailbox I had heard this track ‘ah-plenty’. I can more or less sing along by heart now which sholuld give you some indication of how much I had it on loop, heh. From it’s digital release I knew that we would be in for a very different album, an this one set the tone quite well. When I heard it for the very first time, I remember thinking ‘Now THAT’S a different sort of pillows intro’, and it’s still pretty banging just as you get to that pre-chorus as well. Sawao really hits his stride here vocally when belting this one out as well.

I think it’s safe to say we all agree this is a great single off the album as well. Hearing it in context against the rest of the album really feels like it is the only track that could have in fact been a legitimate single. Definitely feeling a little bit of FUN FUN FUN OK! pre-chorus coming through on this one as well. Manabe’s solo sound here also fits really nicely with a couple of his other solo’s on the album.

Surprise Element: Realy it’s the only track on the album to sound like ‘classic pillows’ to me.

[b]Hang A Vulture![/b]

This one makes me think of R E V I V A L from the TRIAL album a little bit. Kind hoping other people get these feels as well. Revival itself feels like as ‘dark’ (for lack of a better term) as a pillows song can get to me. Hang a vulture has a bit of that unrelenting S A D N E S S in it me thinks. Even manabe’s work sounds like an audio extension to REVIVAL I can imagine some people would hear this and think ‘Oh yeah, it’s a bit of a logical extension of a Predators track, perhaps somewhat more refined.’, however the more you listen it’s really much more a pillows song. Listen for the SLEEPY HEAD feels as well busters!

I guess the only real downside to this track for me is the length. Yes, I know pillows albums of late scrape in a little below 40 mins, and would I love a 15 track pillows album? Hell yes. Solo is ballsy and sharp.

Surprise Element: What this track lacks in quantity, it definitely makes up for in quality.

[b]Perfect Idea[/b]

Now THIS one could easily be the intro for FLCL Season 2. Think ‘Perfect Idea (TV Size / Edit) 0:59’. In fact I’m gonna try and call it now. This WILL be the intro to FLCL S02 folk, and if I’m wrong, that’s cool, but if I’m not then hah! Told ya! I can just see the characters flashing across the screen and some dodgy subs from a random anime site trying to translate Sawao’s lyricisms. If you listen carefully, you can hear some comic sonic vibes mixed with a dash of rodeo star mate, which in fact are both Sket Dance and Lilo & Stitch anime openers themselves!

So onto the track. Could have been a b-side to RODEO STAR MATE instead of the SAD FAD LOVE. In fact I would have strongly preferred this as an ‘alternate universe release schedule’ where future pillows tracks appear on past pillows albums. Anyway, the chorus of this one straight up reminds me of the chorus in ‘MESSAGE from Moondust. But there are certainly bits and pieces of FOXES here as well. I can do that thing in my head (hard to translate into words, especially from down under) where the two songs cross-over, and I can hear the ‘Message’ hints in the chorus. Snippets of the lead from Rodeo Star Mate in Manabe’s solo for a second there as well. Another short-ish track as well here, nonetheless a bunch of fun track as well.

Surprise Element: Sawao had thought about making this one the digital single for the album, but thought better of it given he didn’t think it was quite right. Excellent decision In my opinion. It just would have felt like COMIC SONIC all over again.

[b]Coooming Sooon[/b]

This was the most uncomfortable track on the album for me during that initial listen. Probably one of the more experimental / unique tracks I’ve heard from the pillows in a while. You’ve got ‘call and response’ guitar lines, cymbal 'dings' that sound like ‘cow bells’, mixed english / japanese verses and chorus, a little Shinchiro feature, a ‘BAMBI yell’ and this one even fades out to finish. This track is obviously the ‘kid in the class who sits alone at lunchtime’.

So yeah, let’s talk about that ending. The fade out struck me oddly as well. Not sure what purpose it serves to fade out a pillows track like that. Don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t ruin the track or anything, but it’s really unexpected at the end of the track. Left me feeling a bit miffed. Mastering on this track is not very good n general, but that fade out. In a recent interview Sawao mentioned that instead of following standard procedure and going to a specialty mastering studio as per Stroll and Roll, he did the mastering on his own, extensively. He entertained the thought of using a couple of mastering studios to compare mixing for a future release, but hasn’t made his mind up just yet.I for one hope he does. Must go listen to a lossless copy to see if 30MB serves my ears better than 3.4MB.

Surprise Elements: Shin’s feature and those ‘cow bell’ cymbals.

[b]She Looks Like New-born Baby[/b]

It’s amazing how your impression of a track can change from first listen to third and fourth listen. First few times through this one felt like it should be a b-side to Sawao’s next single ‘The cow can call it’s calf’. (Kidding!) Amazingly it grew on me. Once that chorus hits you, it’s like the pillows of old.

Even the vocals sound incredibly unrefined as a Sawao solo engrish album track would. I must admit this is something I’m used to now, and I love the random little bits that Sawao sings in engrish throughout his entire musical career. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m a huge Sawao vocal supporter. Half the reason I fell in love with the pillows is the random phrases like ‘spiky pierce eleven’ and ‘spicy wraps heaven’. Chorus and solo definitely save this song. I get an uplifting feeling when I hear the chorus now.

It’s a good break from the majority of the song which moves between two chords.The ending is so ‘meh’ as well. I like it though. Seems to be where the album begins to pick up. Back half of the album is usually deeper these last few years.

Surprise Element: That first bit of the solo is totally a Hybrid Rainbow throwback snippet. Go hear it yourself!

[b]Pulse[/b]

I really love this song. Now with this one I’m fairly sure I can actually here some Bellladonna and Blagodarnost influences throughout the versus. Shinchiro is relentless here. It’s even for a little ‘Moondust’ filtering through on the pre-chorus as well.

Even some hybrid rainbow riffs in here as well.

In a way, Pulse is the ‘BLADOGARNOST’ of Nook. On first listen, I thought Pulse would be the ‘ballad’ of the album, but on further inspection I realise it’s not a ballad as much as it is a lullaby. It really feels like a lullaby to me. A powerful lullaby. I flipping love the ending, could listen to those gentle cymbol rolls on loop.

Surprise Element: The outro. Simply beautiful.

[b]Zhelanie[/b]

Yup. Definitely the ‘TRAGEDY OF ELLIOT’ sound of Nook. Despite this, I hear bits of ENERGIA (the russian connection) in this one during the chorus. Vocals are great on this track. Wide range and really clear. Hat tip to Sawao here. Baller hat tip.

The syncopation here is awsome as well. Love when the pillows hit those off-beats vocal or melody lines (think THIRD EYE, ETERNAL TREASURE). Despite the tempo, the song doesn’t actually feel rushed. This feels mellow in a way and somehow at the same time it feels unrelenting and fast via the vocals.

Surprise Element: So many bits and pieces of stroll on it.

[b]Be Wild[/b]

Perhaps this track could stake it’s claim as an FLCL opening track, cutting on BE WILD! Perhaps not. Maybe there’s some conflict of rights to the track to olympic gold medalist Eri Tosaka. Not sure why this song gives me some TRIAL feels, because objectively I don’t feel as though there’s TRIAL elements in it.

Surprise Element: there’s a bit of slowed down MR. DROOPY in the verses, listen carefully kids.

[b]Where Do I Go?[/b]

Does this have the alternate intro to Scent of Sweet that Sawao forgot about? Hah! Of course I think I speak for all of us when I say that this is the ‘Predators’ track off the album. When comparing closer to Stroll and Roll it’s not as Predators as ‘LOCOMOTION, MORE! MORE!’ though, which is a nice change in itself. Reminds me of the TERMINAL HEAVENS ROCK video clip where that controversial dog meat is on a plate ready for the taking.

Maybe Sawao is asking himself where will he (the pillows) go next? Another fourth movement album to come in the next 18 months? Let’s hope so. Let’s hope for 2 more, the latter of which is a BIG one for their thirtieth anniversary!


[b]Verdict[/b]

I don’t think it’s fair to say that this is 100% a better album than Stroll and Roll, it’s just different, and definitely sits in the ‘Alternative Rock’ section of the record store. It makes me really happy to know that they are breaking away and trying new things musically, even if it is filtered throughout the entirety of the album. Overall it does give the album a different sound, and that’s exciting as a pillows fan. That’s exciting as a hardcore pillows fan for some 15 years strong. I’m all for experimentation and I hope the pillows continue this theme!

In post-release interviews Sawao has said that he wrote the tracks, as he usually does, while on tour for Stroll and Roll, and that they were never really intended to be collected as an album. What’s interesting about this is that he’ll probably continue doing this, at random, and I hopeful that we’ll get to hear them in the not-too-distant future. Sounds as though plenty of songs are floating around in his head, including ‘Doko Ni Mo Nai Sekai’ which was performed live recently.

Interestingly enough there was none of that ‘cowboy sound’ on the album as I was hoping for. In fact the closest we get to hearing a little ‘cowboy’ is a lick in the solo of ‘Coooming Sooon’. Hey, I’ll take what I get, especially when I know that awful fade-out comes right after. I really wanted another ‘Subtropical Fantasy’ as well but I’m more than impressed with what the pillows have done here. If the album isn’t sitting well with you so far, my advice would be to keep on listening through and you’ll find a special place for it in your heart (and brain funnily enough!) in no time.

Eager to share my take, I'm in a similar boat as other lurkers here, just waiting for a rip somewhere.

[quote="GoldenRhino"]Eager to share my take, I'm in a similar boat as other lurkers here, just waiting for a rip somewhere. [/quote]

I strongly suggest you purchase the album

In fact I actually ended up purchasing 4 copies (2 standard, 2 limited w/ DVD) so I'm probably going to be selling at least 1 of them shortly on eBay

[quote="thomasjameskalogianis"] I strongly suggest you purchase the album

In fact I actually ended up purchasing 4 copies (2 standard, 2 limited w/ DVD) so I'm probably going to be selling at least 1 of them shortly on eBay [/quote]

I'm not interested in purchasing it, especially at typical 3k JPY standard prices, because I don't feel like the last six (perhaps 7) pillows albums were worth owning/paying money for. I say I'm eager to give it a shot because there's a small, sickled part of me that retains hope, like any Sonic fan who hears "Sonic is back!! Really, this time!" I slowly learning my lesson, but there you go.

Ousama and the Envy preview have been utterly disappointing as well, so I'm quite far away from pulling the trigger on this one. And just to head it off before anyone else gets there: I don't want to hear anyone on this forum go all anti-piracy moralizing on me - that, ahem, ship, had sailed long ago for 95% of this forum.