I'm not gonna do a song-by-song review. Rather, some important bulletin points....

- At least four people have made the BOAT HOUSE comparison to PATRICIA, Mare. We're not talking about keys, about chords, anything like that. The beat is very similar (not in a bad way!) and it retains the same care-free vibe the older song had. It's not a "SCARECROW = ONE LIFE" comparison..more like a "BOAT HOUSE [i]feels[/i] like PATRICIA" (in a good, original way.)

- BOAT HOUSE's chorus is fantastic.

-The live version of PROPOSE completely blows the studio version out of the water. This is a rare time where I'll say that the studio version needed more distortion. The chorus lacked nearly all of the power of the live version. The most egregious offense was the solo, though. What's with the lack of rhythm guitar? It sounded weak, unnecessarily "quirky" and out of place. It sucks cause I was really looking forward to this track on the album...the verse and chorus are passable, but the solo was just [i]botched[/i].

- YOUNGSTER (Kent Arrow) has got to be one of the catchiest songs I've heard in quite some time. It's short, sweet, and infectious. I don't see how anyone could see this as being filler. "Set you free!..." "Let you go!...", and the clapping is pretty cool. Get some good audience participation during live shows. It's a very simple song...but I really love it.

- Skinny Blues is great.

- Serious Plan, in my opinion, is the weakest track of the album. Gets mega points for "buenos tardes" however.

- the pillows still need to turn down the production.

- I found many of the solos (and some of Manabe's lead) to be uninspired and quite boring. No soul. I'm talking to you, Serious Plan, Private Kingdom, Sweet Baggy Days, and to a certain extent, Pleasure Song. They felt cranked out. Manabe knows scales, and he also knows it sounds cool when you hit two notes at the same time in your solo. But there are so few of these solos that are memorable.

- Solos that are memorable (because they're good, not just familiar): PATRICIA, Energy, Kimi to Boku to o-Tsuki-Sama, Another Morning, Little Busters, Last Dinosaur, Funny Bunny. The difference between these new solos and the older solos is that the new ones sounds like they were just created in five minutes from the top of Manabe's head. He's slipping from his stylistic "less is more" approach to lead. There's no driving [i]idea[/i] behind these solos. There's no overarching theme that draws the listener closer. One of the best examples is TURN BACK's O-Tsuki-Sama (play it from 2:02). It actually sounds like you're under a beautiful dark sky, watching shooting stars. I wish Manabe :: melody of solos as Sawao :: vocal melody of YOUNGSTER.

- Sweet Baggy Days was definitely the best choice for an album ender. The ending sped up power chorus rocked me. Would it be so wrong to say that the ending reminded me of Shiroi's ending momentarily? "Sweet! Baggy Days!!!" "Shiroi Natusu to! Midori no Jitensha!!".

- Wake Up! dodo stands as one of the album's better tracks because it is beautifully pleasant. I don't think there's any secret magic in this track, the intention was just to how something very nice (for the chorus) and somewhat groovy for the prechorus. The solo, although many of us feel it's rather weak...really captures the essence of this song. As does the PV. The song feels like: "I'm on a mission to do something, and I know I will have fun, because THR dog has my back!"
Seriously. This morning after I got the rip from schmatzee, I left the house, jogging up to the corner where I get on my school bus while listening to Wake Up! dodo. It felt damn good. At the peak of the hill, it was "TIEM TO CALL JOMEL AND TELL HIM THE GOOD NEWS".

Wake up! dodo- I admit I didn't like this much at all when I first heard it in the video, but it's ever-so-slowly growing on me. It is pretty catchy.

YOUNGSTER (Kent Arrow)- It's ok. For some reason I could tell instinctively that the "wake up!" part was coming, and it felt weird as hell. I don't dislike it but it's not making a huge impact on me at the moment.

Propose- I'm pretty underwhelmed by this song compared to everyone else. I just didn't see what the big deal was.

Scarecrow- Still love it.

BOAT HOUSE- It's good, but again, I'm not quite as excited about it as everyone else is. Does sound a little older than most of the new stuff.

The Pleasure Song- Alright, I guess this is the first song on the album besides Scarecrow that I really like a lot. It turned out to be a lot better than I expected and that kind of set the template for the whole song for me. Good damn stuff Sawaoaoaoa.

Serious Plan- I'm with Jomei, the chorus on this is gaye. Actually the whole thing is kind of boring.

Skinny Blues- It was ok. Probably the rockiest song on the album, but I haven't heard more than this point yet. Nothing wow.

Private Kingdom- Really good. I like this one a lot, got a nice solo and a good all-over rock feeling which I'm digging like dirt. The chorus is nice, and I like the whistling.

Century Creepers- Somehow managing to stay with the feeling of the album while sounding totally different and new. I love Sawao's vocals on this, and the guitars, while kind of new-rock sounding, are not bad at all. I fucking love the ending.

Sweet Baggy Days- Yeah, I have to go with Jomel on this one again, fuck repetitive choruses. It almost kills this song but I still like it. It's not bad.

Overall it's the best in a while, but I still have kind of a sour feeling from it, not sure why. Maybe it'll improve on more listening.

[quote="discovolante"]Propose- I'm pretty underwhelmed by this song compared to everyone else. I just didn't see what the big deal was.[/quote]

Next time you're on AIM, I'll send you the live version of PROPOSE from the Whisky. Then you'll see what all the hype was about.

[quote="GoldenRhino"][quote="discovolante"]Propose- I'm pretty underwhelmed by this song compared to everyone else. I just didn't see what the big deal was.[/quote]

Next time you're on AIM, I'll send you the live version of PROPOSE from the Whisky. Then you'll see what all the hype was about.[/quote]

Make it later tonight punk AND IT'S A DAMN DEAL.

And I need to come up to Seattle already, it's been too damn long. Elliot's in Disneyland. :/

Wake Up! dodo: I first thought it was boring, but now I actually like it.

Youngster (Kent Arrow): A catchy song, not bad, but nothing great.

Propose: Simple song, but it's got a nice tune.

Scarecrow: Love it, great emotion and melody.

Boat House: I like it, as GoldenRhino said, it sounds sort of like Patricia.

Pleasure Song: Nothing spectacular, but I think it's a good song none-the-less

Serious Plan: Reminded me of No Self Control a little bit, I liked it, but I have a feeling I'll skip it a lot.

Skinny Blues: Alright I suppose, nothing that great.

Private Kingdom: It's another good song, but it doesn't have any feature that distinguishes it.

Century Creepers: Great song, it has powerful chorus, and it's one of the more fast-paced songs on the album.

Sweet Sweet Baggy Days: The name isn't great, but the song isn't half bad.

This album is, in my opinion, better than Good Dreams and My Foot, and goes head to head with Thank You, My Twilight.

i enjoyed this album quite a bit.
my favorite tracks are Scarecrow, Skinny Blues, and Century Creepers.

there were a few impressive things i thought about this album. i like it a lot, but im not horribly in love with it as is the case with other albums.

[quote="GoldenRhino"][quote="discovolante"]Propose- I'm pretty underwhelmed by this song compared to everyone else. I just didn't see what the big deal was.[/quote]

Next time you're on AIM, I'll send you the live version of PROPOSE from the Whisky. Then you'll see what all the hype was about.[/quote]

I'd like that too, if you'd be willing to send it to me.
My AIM is Utsuseru

Holy shit, this is the first time I'm listening to Century Creepers and in the beginning, the guitar is totally reminding me of March of the Dog.

Err, God*.

alright since everyone else is doing it, i'll jump on the bandwagon too.

wake up! do do - badass. i believe thus far from running through the CD once, this one is pretty much my favorite. biased because this was the first song from the cd? maybe.....but whatever, its good.

YOUNGSTER (Kent arrow) - from everyone elses reaction of this track, i was surprised because i was slightly unimpressed. i thought it sounded a tad generic. It sounded something from an american pop band....to me it just didnt feel like pillows material.

PROPOSE - I agree with disco here....i didnt see much hype in why it was so great or anything. well i dont know because i havent heard the live version so i'll say my judgment based on the cd ver: again not surprising but its still a good song.

SCARECROW - eh........i still like BOYS BE LOCKSMITHS better. scarecrow is alright.

BOAT HOUSE - again, i felt unimpressed with this one but it was good either way.

Pleasure Song - i liked this one alot actually. although i felt it was a bit slow, but the chorus was great. i dug the chorus muy.

Serious Plan - I liked this one too. haha and yea the buenos tardes was great. The chorus was pretty cool.

Skinny Blues - My second favorite next to Wake Up! Dodo. Its fast paced and has a cool vibe.

Private Kingdom - i didnt feel much from this one. mixed feelings about this one.

Century Creepers - Great song! I like the Verse guitar riff....very interesting. fast paced, driving, and cool ending.

Sweet Baggy Days - its a good ending...down tempo and pretty relaxing but i wouldnt say the best ending especially if you compare to MY FOOT's Gazelle City which i think owns every song on this album. although the last part of sweet baggy days is pretty sweet lol.

all in all, i liked because there werent any tracks that i would have discarded (like Good Dream's Bad dreams and what not), yet at the same time a couple tracks had me unimpressed but otherwise, it does redeem itself for having some several good tracks as well.

favorites: Wake up! dodo, Skinny Blues, Pleasure Song, Century Creepers

Doesnt the main riff of Century Creepers remind you of an alternate version of Gazelle City's main riff?
Im really loving Private Kingdom....and Scarecrow gets better and better.

[quote="Cyclopz0rs"]Doesnt the main riff of Century Creepers remind you of an alternate version of Gazelle City's main riff?
Im really loving Private Kingdom....and Scarecrow gets better and better.[/quote]

Nah, there's no shaking it in my head, Century Creepers sounds remarkably close to the chorus part in March of the Dog. Damnit, I did it again. March of the Dog*

I freaking swear.

I have to disagree with some common opinions on things.

1. Propose - I still say this song is super catchy, and I think the solo is fine. I don't see what is "botched" about it.

2. Youngster and Serious Plan - part of what I like about these is the interplay between the guitars and bass. The tone of the chords in Kent Arrow are really cool, and the interaction between the two different guitar lines and the bass (finally we can hear Jun doing something) is pretty interesting.

Also, somewhat random, but what the fuck is a "baggy day" anyway?

Yamanaka's subtly mocking emofags wearing tight pants.

[quote="Marekenshin"]Yamanaka's subtly mocking emofags wearing tight pants.[/quote]

HAHAAHAH YEAH!

Thanks for the dwnload guys.

POOR PROPOSE! The production totally did a diservice to the song. The Live kicks ass! This song is still good though, just not as good, better vocals.

the whole album is great, freakn manabe was smoking during skinny blues, shit! Imma listen to this album a lot more before passing ULTIMATE judgement though.

ARGGH what's this crap about Propose's production. I think it's pretty damn sweet. Yes I've heard the live, I don't get what we're fussing over. I like the way he sings it on the album, and I like the vocal effects before the instrumental. With the solo, listen to the drums, while you hear Manabe... then the bass comes in... then BAM BAM BAM "WHOO" into Manabe finishing it off. They owned it here. I'm sure they owned it there too, but I don't agree that one is better than the other.

Right now Century Creepers is ripping my face off. 10/10

Skinny Blues is pretty cool too, something's keeping it from being awesome, I don't know what, I think it's the chorus, it just kinda happens without any kind of buildup. 8/10