Dark Americana Briefs, Volume 18

Ladies' Night

Feist: Metals (2011)
4 out of 5 stars

Feist is a Canadian who stretches my preconceived notions about what "pop" means. There are no big dance hits here: Metals is full of simmering tunes that are sometimes vulnerable, sometimes angry, and always beautiful. While she touches on R&B, I've included this record here for the many Americana and blues touches. She's not afraid to make it heavy for a brief moment or two, either. Feist wouldn't be out of place sharing a stage with Sarah McLachlan or Chelsea Wolfe; a midpoint.

Babymetal: Babymetal (2014)

Only Chocolate Is Real

By now you've no doubt heard of Babymetal, the Japanese idol band that's somehow also a metal band fronted by adorable teenage girls in cutesy outfits. Isn't one of the driving ideas behind Metalocalypse the idea that extreme metal going mainstream would trigger the apocalypse? We might be there.

Anyway, like you, I first heard them and dismissed them. I didn't want to, because I'm a bit of an otaku-wannabe, but it's more polished than In Flames, and I can't stand my metal that polished. But over the last couple weeks I took in heavy doses of completely untrue music, like Powerman 5000, indie pop group LAKE, and a few other oddities. But it was the Babymetal tunes that I found myself humming throughout the day.


To appreciate it, you have to forget the idea that this is a metal band, even if the guys on the instruments came into it with some credibility. No, this is a meticulously crafted pop band, manufactured probably how Conan O'Brien did with Dudez-A-Plenti.* Elements are carefully selected and mashed together to make sure no one will ever get bored, and the hooks keep coming so no one will ever get the songs out of their heads.

"Megitsune" sets the stage with a pretty straight-forward example of the formula. There's tons of synths and there's a breakdown. "Gimme Chocolate!!" goes really J-pop before it throws in a guitar solo. "line!" sounds exactly like something out of Dance Dance Revolution, but with a hilarious rap break and a ridiculously heavy chug right after that, while "Uki Uki Midnight" does DDR with a dubstep part. This might lead a typical observer to note the many random genres thrown together, but a metalhead will identify even more. Most of it's a kind of generic modern metal, but there's old-school thrash ("Song 4"), some Static-X shenanigans ("Catch Me If You Can"), groove metal ("Onedari Daisakusen"), and djent mixed with Nightwish ("Rondo of Nightmare"). "Akatsuki" is basically indistinguishable from Rhapsody of Fire.

So, let's cut right to the quick. This is a novelty group, and even the metal parts that they appropriate aren't the kinds of metal that will get you underground cred.** But it's so addictive I think it's given me brain damage. That is, about five out of the thirteen songs are, and the rest is mostly filler. Those semi-sweet morsels keep me coming back just the same.

The Verdict: 3.5 out of 5 stars



* The boy band bonus feature on the Late Night with Conan O'Brien 10th Anniversary Special DVD might be the funniest thing I've ever seen. "No one should ever see your face."

** If you're still reading this page after finding out I like My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic, then I think I don't have to worry about that.

Dead Tank Briefs

Eclecticism

Dead Tank Records is a small label that's hitting my eclecticism in a lot of the right places right now. It looks like they specialize in vinyl and cassette, but you can hit them up on a pay-what-you-want for most (all?) of their releases. Three cases in point:

Thou: Ceremonies of Humiliation (2014)
3.5 out of 5 stars

People seem to lose their shit over Thou. I don't, so much, but I appreciate their raspy-voiced slow-burn sludge well enough. This release collects all of their extensive contributions to splits from prior to Summit on 3xLP.

Metal Briefs: More Short Briefs of 2013

Two by Two

Two-song releases comprise a lot of my listening lately. It only seems fitting they get two-sentence reviews.

Aktor: I Am the Psychic Wars
4 out of 5 stars

This sounds almost exactly like Dawnbringer's last two albums, but with prominent synths added to the mix. Pretty fucking rad.

Metal Briefs: Off-the-Wall 2012

Unexpected Delay

I wrote these brief reviews about a year ago. Except for the fact that the last review disappeared into the aether. Like most people, I hate to re-do my work, but I finally got around to it. I think you'll agree it was worth it to see these releases that are a little out of the ordinary.

Germ: Loss
3.5 out of 5 stars

You might recall my review of Germ's Wish. The follow-up, Loss, came quickly on its heels. It's 80's movie soundtrack with tortured screams, but that's a bit too reductivist. Loss also touches on 90's radio rock and some very catchy dance music (see the album's two-part centerpiece). This is unlike anything else. The record is not quite as strong as its predecessor (only 2 out of 6 songs are single-worthy) but I love this weird band even more.

Boris: Attention Please (2011)

Review

Yes, more Japanese music featuring a girl. Released right around the same time. Weird.

Ah, Boris. The incredibly prolific Japanese band is more adventurous than anyone else that's been called a metal band. The fact they succeed so often at so many different things is perhaps the reason they have such a loyal following.

So, why not do a pop album?

Attention Please is not metal. Where there are guitars, they are mostly pushed to the background, either playing simple melodies or giving atmospheric squeals. The bass and drums are also understated, tending toward pop rhythms or absolute minimalism. Front-and-center on this album is the vocal work of Wata, whose tiny, accented voice is incredibly enchanting.