Ready Steady Go = Primer Beat + Fingerposts of Magic + We have a Theme Song

Still not a fan of Comic Sonic, so it gets my vote for weakest song on the album. I was going to add Flashback Story to that, but it's actually pretty good, on a second listen.

Not sure how I feel about Mochinushi no nai guitar. I was hoping for another 1989/Ameagari ni, but it just doesn't feel like it...progresses very much to me? I dunno.

Everything else goes between "pretty good" to "definitely going to be played over and over," especially TRIAL.

[quote="chgu"]especially TRAIL.[/quote]
TRIAL

R-E-V-I-V-A-L

Hmm, I can't really judge after one listen.
There's not really a song yet that jumps out and catches my attention like 'Movement' did on Horn Again.
Then again, overall I prefer it above HA.
It's a shame that this album also only has 10 tracks on it.
I think the most remarkable song, stylistic, is track 8, the long song: Mochinushi No Nai Guitar.
I have to figure that one out yet.
The collaboration with Yoko worked for me , it's one of my favorite tracks on the album, only due to the 'na na na na - na na na na' though.
(Ofcourse, we already heard Energia and TRIAL. . .those two tracks are also quite good.)

The fuck? This is AWESOME.

Edit: Though I'm not sure I felt the "climax" of Mochinishu. On my first listen, anyways.

[quote="Scarecrow"]Here's the album, got it in the mail this morning! Enjoy!

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0f9e80[/quote]


Can't wait to listen to this. Thanks!

Minority Whisper is pretty cash

Wtf happened on Ready Steady Go!? lol

Going to get this later. It will be the first pillows album I've listened to since Wake Up Wake Up Wake Up.

[quote="Scarecrow"]Here's the album, got it in the mail this morning! Enjoy!

http://www.sendspace.com/file/0f9e80[/quote]

I'll give it a listen since I spent my money on their dvds...

Hmm. . .it would be fun if we all could join a listening room and listen to the album.
Well, the idea sounds fun. =P

Thanks for the upload! Definitely the best album since...well I'd say it's maybe a bit better than Wake Up! 3x. A bit better than My Foot? Let's be real, My Foot had a few great songs (Nonfiction, Third Eye, My Foot, Gazelle City) and the rest of it was merely okay.

While this album does have its quirks and weird country-pastiches (as seen in Sawao's recent solo stuff), I think the album has a pretty uniform tone to it. Manabe's tone is sharp and cold, and I really got a wintery vibe (like in the TRIAL PV) from a lot of the tracks. The album is much better than previous albums because there's simply no quirky junk like LIFE SIZE LIFE, or Nobody Knows What Blooms (seriously guys, it's pretty tacky). None of the tracks feature the generic drone of Lily My Sun or Biography. It's not perfect, but I definitely dig it!

There's a slightly mournful/minor-key/desperate vibe from a lot of these tracks, which I like. Some seriousness.

1. Revival.
A little generic, but it sets the mood for the album very well. Some cool riffs, and good vocal performance. I like it when Sawao lets the song's atmosphere speak for itself with some hanging notes and aggressive drumming (though the left-speaker riff is wayyy repetitive).

2. Rescue
Probably the weakest track on the album. The verses are flippant and not engaging, the choruses are lulled to sleep with that signature vocal tone from Yoko of Noodles. It's pleasant but forgettable. They should have given Yoko some English lines to make it more endearing.

3. Comic Sonic
I'm sort of coming around on Comic Sonic. I still the the verses and bendy-riffs are stupid. Feels a little out of place on the album for some reason Nice work on the solo with the pinch harmonics XD.

4. Flashback Story SOUNDS like it's about to be goofy-filler, and it sort of is - but it recalls the lovely swing of That's a wonderful world (song for HERMIT) and Primer Beat. It's got a nice rhythm. And Manabe rockabilly solo is reallllly grooving with me. It's a very fun track, I'll say that.

5. Energia
Was listening to this album on the bus, iPod in pocket. This song came on and I was like "I recognize this...this isn't Trial...Comic Sonic...Movement, no that was on the last album. OH YEAHHH, ENERGIA!" Fuckin' great song. Doesn't overstay its welcome, has that Last Dinosaur style of Sonic the Hedgehog speed, between the pleasant and open down times. I gotta say, the bass flange works...

6. Polaris something something
I don't really have strong feelings yet on this one. I'll listen to it more.

7. Minority Whisper
Uhhh, lyrics scan? Verse is mehhh, but of course that doesn't matter because this song has the best chorus on the album, right? As with most recent Engrish tracks, it'd probably be better in Japanese - but this is actually a song I want to know the lyrics to - I think I'll like it more. It's just a shame that the solo doesn't really go anywhere.

8. Mochinushi no nai GITAA
This probably could have been 6 minutes. The vocal melody is good, and I like how Manabe really blues'd up the solo. I agree with Tidus, the climax doesn't totally work, because for the first five and a half minutes, it's basically just too much over-drive tremolo. A climax of "sing louder and go 'ahhhhhAHHH'" doesn't totally cut it. Still, it's aight.

9. TRIAL
I'll be more and more okay with this riff as the song goes on. It sort of works, it's also sort of stupid. The tried and true pillows formula is quite present here, and it works strongly. Yeah, I can still imagine seeing this music video promo on the big screen at the Shibuya intersection and being all "That's nice" if I didn't know this band. But fuck, man - the last three albums were pretty weaksauce. We need "pretty good" songs like this.

10. Ready Steady Go!
Here's our RUNNERS HIGH/YOUNGSTER/Primer Beat. I'll be honest, I got some "awwww, I love this baaaand" chills at the "BUSTERS!" shout in the middle. It's cute, it's fun, whatever. I liked it. The outro Engrish was fucking ridiculous. GR's interpretation: "KLINGON THIS PAINYEAH? THE OVAL BEATS AGAIN. KEN IS ALSO A JUG-TEA! I CAN FISH INDOORS! FOREVER NEVERALONE...ANIMAL DON'T CONSIDER STIR-FRY! SO I LEAVE: ONLY THESE FATTIES...Wonderful..."

Mochinushi no nai guitar - This song was exciting, as of why, I can not be specific. Perhaps the long and mesmerizing Manabe solo. Started listening to some classic albums shortly after this song finished playing.

Thank you Scarecrow for the album share.

[quote="GoldenRhino"]5. Energia
Was listening to this album on the bus, iPod in pocket. This song came on and I was like "I recognize this...this isn't Trial...Comic Sonic...Movement, no that was on the last album. OH YEAHHH, ENERGIA!" Fuckin' great song. Doesn't overstay its welcome, has that Last Dinosaur style of Sonic the Hedgehog speed, between the pleasant and open down times. I gotta say, the bass flange works...[/quote]

Haha, exactly.
I had exactly the same thing, though I was riding a bike.
I didn't even expect the song to pop up. Forgot I had put it on my music player.

For me Energia would be the equivalent of HA's Movement.

Hubba hubba, I'll get a listen in before I bowl. Thank you Scarecrow!

[quote="Ashinow"]Hmm. . .it would be fun if we all could join a listening room and listen to the album.
Well, the idea sounds fun. =P[/quote]

Idk if you're implying you know, but the listening room closed down...

[quote="Sawao Yamanaka"] "KLINGON THIS PAINYEAH? THE OVAL BEATS AGAIN. KEN IS ALSO A JUG-TEA! I CAN FISH INDOORS! FOREVER NEVERALONE...ANIMAL DON'T CONSIDER STIR-FRY! SO I LEAVE: ONLY THESE FATTIES...Wonderful..."[/quote]

Infinity stars/5

Mochinushi no nai guitar is completely [b]boss[/b], probably my favorite of the ones I haven't heard yet. He sang that wonderfully, I thought. I like the choices that they made with the ending on first listen... and I'm happy that they chose not to use a fade out at the end.

Revival, Minority Whisper, Flashback Story, Ready Steady Go, big-time . Rescue is pretty nice, I wasn't bored by it but it is eclipsed by mostly everything else on the album. I also didn't get much of a read on Polaris etc... It's a bit sleepy. Overall, I'm a happy camper. There is a lot to like, and the negatives aren't nearly as pronounced as they have been on the past few albums. I want to own this one.