Japan's pop-punk ambassadors ketchup mania have to be one of the most visible bands here in America lately. Not only did they play Sakura-Con (make sure to check out the Jtor interview with them there!) this year, but they were also a part of the massive Japan Nite tour that hit up SXSW. With the help of JapanFiles.com, they have released two new singles this year, and just yesterday they finally unleashed their new album unto the world.
Following the pattern of past albums U.R.G.E. and L.O.V.E., this new one is titled F.L.A.G. It arrives less than a year after their previous L.O.V.E. album, just as L.O.V.E. came only a few months after U.R.G.E. These guys not only play fast, but write like crazy as well.
With so much material being produced at a break-neck pace, it wouldn't be surprising if things started to blur together. Join me after the jump to see if F.L.A.G. brings any new colors to ketchup mania country.
The album starts of with a brief acoustic tease before launching with full force into the short but sweet "LOST." It quickly sets up the ground rules for the next half hour of their signature pop-punk style. As in the past, the production is incredibly sharp and devastatingly compressed. Somehow everything is in the foreground. Wani's highly tuned snare clangs away over a sizzling wash of cymbals and the razor sharp guitars, with Hiro's laser beam vocals burning a path through it all. "BAD! BAD! BAD!" which we've already been well acquainted with, keeps the tempo high and the energy set to maximum with plenty of fist pumping moments. "JUST A MESS" continues with the screaming force, but finally takes things down a notch. This allows them to crank up the melody just a bit and adding an anthemic feel worthy of the album title.
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"119110 "is just about as close to a ballad at ketchup mania gets. The chorus gets down-right dreamy at times, and the funkier groove evokes memories of a No Doubt from light years ago before they had totally sold out.
The sugary pop coating starts to crack a bit on "EVERLONE." With electro-vocals, chugging ruffs and even some dueling metal guitars, it shows a marked increase in maturity both in structure and attitude. It's one of the few times that the band allows themselves to stray off message, if just a little. It's a very welcome break from the norm. As if to counter this dip into darkness, they follow it up with their most recent single "PLEASE MARRY ME." Again, we've heard this one before, but it's just as poppy and funky fresh-faced as it was then.
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"PING-PONG" is one of their hardest hitting tracks, full of monster guitars and a blistering run of snare rolls and non-stop punishing beats. Again they stray just a bit into metal territory with the guitar style and the speed at which they attack the song. "PINK WATER," which we also heard back on the first single, brings a bit of experimentation to the table. It has a few electro breaks and even a very brief old-school rave beat tossed in the middle. This is exactly the sort of thing I feel the band needs more of. Not that what they have is inadequate, but pushing boundaries and expectations is always a good thing. Isn't that what punk is all about?
"PAST-NOW-FUTURE" is a full on pop track. Instead of jangling guitars and a softly mixed back-beat, we have the now ubiquitous in-your-face sound, but it's a pop song none-the-less. Full of a warm glow, the chorus is all smiles and happy feelings. Is that a harmonica? Yes, the (for once) subtly mixed harmonica also adds a bit of a folk flavor to the otherwise touch edged track.
Now that we are (already!) nearing the end of the album, it must be time for the wind-down to the finish. "ETERNAL LOVERS" lives up to its romantic name by shifting way down into territory normally reserved for your Puffy Ami-Yumi type sing-alongs. Again, no one has touched the distortion pedals or those amps turned up to eleven, but the tempo signals that it's time to hold hands and sway gently to the beat, even if the sound-waves are peeling the paint off your car while you do it.
Finally (can you say that after only twenty eight minutes?) "COME ON!!" does exactly what you'd expect from these guys. Namely, turn everything back up to Ludicrous Speed for the big finish. At this point the listener's ears have been brought to the brink of annihilation, and things are starting to feel a bit like more of the same. All of a sudden thirty minutes seems like exactly the right length.
If there is one thing you can say about F.L.A.G. it's that it's consistent. From the very beginning the production and instrumentation is virtually set in stone. The only signal you get that you're now listening to a new song is the very brief pause in the sonic barrage. There are a few very welcome change ups along the way, but for the most part ketchup mania do one thing and do it very well. They play loud and fast and keep the Technicolor smiles and rainbows flying at you at break-neck speed for thirty minutes straight, never giving an inch and planting their flag firmly into your face.