pitchork reviews Kyary Pamyu Pamyu's Pika Pika Fantajin

[dvang]

personally i found this album much more cohesive and has better production than her earlier two full albums.......

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/19592-kyary-pamyu-pamyu-pikapika-fantasian/

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  Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Pika Pika Fantajin Warner Japan; 2014 By Patrick St. Michel; July 8, 20146.7

   

  • FIND IT AT:Insound Vinyl Amazon MP3 & CD

In April, Avril Lavigne released a 

  for her song “Hello Kitty†that found the Canadian pop star wandering around downtown Tokyo and eating sushi while shouting out various Japanese phrases. Dozens of websites quickly reacted in horror to the clip, outraged at her robotic, personality-devoid back-up dancers and her “appropriation†of Japanese culture. These criticisms were valid, but few pointed out who Lavigne took the most cues from-Harajuku-raised fashion-blogger-turned-model-turned J-pop-singer Kyary Pamyu Pamyu. Lavigne mimicked the way she often bases her fashion on sweets, and filmed the bulk of “Hello Kitty†in Kyary’s stomping grounds, even dancing in a store whose clothes Kyary modeled early in her career. It was a clear stab at replicating her visual aesthetic, something many Japanese viewers picked up on.

Lavigne didn’t pick a bad artist to imitate, though. Kyary’s imaginative get-ups and surreal videos have turned her into one of Japan’s premier performers and the most globally visible J-pop star today. Outside of her home country she’s still a niche act, but one whose developed a fanbase capable of selling out a three-continent-spanning tour and attracted admirers such as Ryan Hemsworth, Grimes, and 

 . Yet non-Japanese media focuses almost exclusively on her visual side, with many write-ups and reviews focusing on her “quirky,†“colorful,†and “bizarre†side. Her music is often an afterthought. Kyary’s songs, however, are far more complex than any of those adjectives imply, and her third full-length,Pika Pika Fantajin, highlights the diversity within her songbook. Despite being her least consistent release to date, it still reveals she’s more than a weird-Japan meme.

It helps that Yasutaka Nakata, one of the most famous Japanese producers of the last decade, writes Kyary’s songs. With his personal project Capsule and the chart-topping trio Perfume, he crafted catchy music bridging the gap between 1990s Shibuya-kei and more modern maximalist electro-pop. Working with Kyary has allowed him to experiment, peaking with Kyary’s 2013 earworm-packed Nanda Collection, which doubled as a thoughtful look at the onset of adulthood. Fantajin isn’t as lyrically deep, but features similarly catchy pop via its singles—“

 â€ is a good gateway into her peppier material, the song ringing forward breathlessly towards a playful center. Even better is “Kira Kira Killer ,†the album’s most radio-ready cut. Nakata builds the song from the same bells and digital whistles as “Mottai-Nightlandâ€, but rounds it out with a bouncy chorus wherein every syllable shines and Kyary’s backing swoons make it all the sweeter.

These songs have been ever-present on Japanese TV and radio since their release, but it’s not just because of their catchiness. Many J-pop singles come into existence thanks to advertising campaign tie-ins, companies approaching well-known performers and giving them a vague idea what they want and letting them come up with the rest. The aforementioned Kyary tracks both soundtrack ads for cellphones, while another Fantajin number, “Yumeno Hajima Ring Ringâ€, serves as a theme for an apartment-finding app. What separates Kyary (and Nakata) from many other J-pop acts is a refusal to be lazy about it, as they try to make these more than disposable jingles. Whereas many other songs aimed at graduating students (possibly in need of housing) are gloopy ballads, the melancholy “Yume†skips ahead, backed by breezy guitar and anxious lyrics more worried about the future than nostalgia. Even “Family Partyâ€, created as the theme song for an animated movie—an assignment Nakata has mailed in before—at least finds Kyary trying out a chirpy chiptune sound that is serviceable for its brief run time.

Fantajin’s most interesting developments come on the album-only cuts. “Serious Hitomi†rolls out the most aggressive guitar playing to appear on a Kyary Pamyu Pamyu song, yet the in-your-face playing backs up a song about being deeply shy, and swivels into one of the best and cuddliest choruses on the album. “Tokyo Highway†teases EDM with its skittering repetition of Kyary’s voice, but Nakata never lets the song drop in on itself, instead settling into a twinkling jog accented by the prettiest keyboard plinks on the album. But Fantajin’s highlight is also its biggest curveball. “Sungoi Aura†plays out like a silly Broadway musical number more than a pop song, but it features Kyary at her most clever, lyrically, and Nakata nailing all the details needed to really sell the theatrical bend of the track (those piano flairs!).

Pushing yourself, however, means falling flat on your face sometimes. “Koi Koi Koi"'s semi-creepy-waltz vibe runs out of steam quickly, while closing track “Explorer†features sparse production that puts the spotlight on Kyary Pamyu Pamyu’s voice, which is not equipped for hitting the high-notes she aims for here. The biggest misfire on Fantajin—and the worst song of her career thus far—is “Ring a Bell,†her first all-English effort. Its existence is strange enough, given that her growing international fanbase doesn’t seem to care if she can sing a song in English. It sounds like a bad children’s TV show theme that ran out of ideas in 30 seconds pressed on for more than four minutes.

Fantajin stumbles at times and ultimately feels like a transitional album, but its mix of new sonic twists and straight-up pop delicacies make for good listen overall, underscoring the fact that Kyary Pamyu Pamyu is more than a YouTube oddity. And more people are picking up on that: Kyary is currently working with wonky producer Sophie and French pop act Yelle on new music, an intriguing development in her still-young career.

 

[DocumentaLy]

Patrick reviewed this so it's going to be a giant rimjob to be honest.

[DocumentaLy]

Ohh Lord, after reading it all I can of is: http://pinkspidah.tumblr.com/post/91035099476/theglowptsad-the-otaku-frank-howley-x

[Nocchi]

"It sounds like a bad children’s TV show theme that ran out of ideas in 30 seconds pressed on for more than four minutes."

 

does this not apply to 90% of kyary's music

[asjkghasdasdas]

it's a good album though

[DocumentaLy]

"It sounds like a bad children’s TV show theme that ran out of ideas in 30 seconds pressed on for more than four minutes."

 

does this not apply to 90% of kyary's music

 

Truth!

[avanpiper]

It's not terrible but she's done better, that or I expected more.

[Little Eight]

6.7 from P4K? That's more than I gave it.

 

No doubt theneedledrop will be on this too since she seems to be one of the only Japanese acts he reviews. 

[fsk2]

I dig Kyary although she's a better singles  than album artist - but I do find it unfair that her albums frequently get pitchfork reviews while the superior perfume ones don't. I guess her style and wacky antics fit better with the indie crowd. 

[cake]

Score is way too generous, Kyary's stuff is more often awful than not.

[AdzPower]

I loved her first two albums but this one is....mediocre tbh.

[swab]

Ohh Lord, after reading it all I can of is: http://pinkspidah.tumblr.com/post/91035099476/theglowptsad-the-otaku-frank-howley-x

 

oh my GOD! I literally know so many people like this