![]() The ratio of conventional P5 moments to those that try new things is about even on Overdose.Īs a whole album, one of its distinctive qualities includes noticeable Jackson 5 and Stevie Wonder-isms that expand on the band’s soul stylings (paying tribute to Wonder specifically), and that the album itself is themed around the city of New York. Singles “Happy Sad” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street” are among the group’s best songs, and they keep staples like horns and stylish retro appeal while remaining as soulful and fun as any of their other songs. When Pizzicato Five play it safe though, it’s usually just as easy to appreciate as the band’s shots at experimentation. Still, experimentation is never a forced thing for P5, which makes their sound accessible for those who’re new to their diverse genre. Electronics are employed on “The Night Is Still Young”, the album’s 11-minute dance epic, but the track is so slow-burning and repetitive that you’ll have a hard time appreciating the band’s otherwise breezy attempt at a late night house song. Their songs are usually very upbeat and feel like daytime tunes, but a couple songs on Overdose go for more of a nighttime feel, like “If I Were a Groupie” and “Shopping Bag”, mostly because they’re more laid-back and sleazy-sounding. Much like the band’s career as a whole, the album exhibits great variety while staying faithful to their core sound, but it isn’t afraid to take daring leaps into new territory. And so, as a follow-up, it’s simply overlooked because it wasn’t as new or inventive, but that doesn’t keep it from being a rock-solid album anyway.Īs an album that really isn’t all that new or inventive (in the context of the band’s work), it’s good to know Overdose is still an album with plenty of awesome individual songs. What’s wrong with it? Nothing really, but when a band releases what’s considered their “defining album”, especially one that defines its own subgenre, the stakes are set pretty high, and lofty expectations push albums like Overdose to the shadows of its predecessors. Those 2 albums are considered defining works for both the band and the shibuya-kei genre, but they certainly didn’t deplete the band’s ideas the rest of the 90’s saw the creation of albums equally loved by fans, but understandably, Overdose wasn’t one of them. After Pizzicato Five reinvigorated Japanese pop music with their cool and groovy albums This Year’s Girl and Bossa Nova, they became something like a revolution they paved a unique path in the pop genre that fused jazz, bossa nova, soul and indie pop into something they could call their own. It suffers from what I like to call “follow-up syndrome”. Overdose might initially come across as something disappointing. Re-released in 1995 with some tracks missing ("This Can't Be Love"), making the original very collectable.Review Summary: For fans first and curious kitties second. Konishi revamps an old demo, "Sex Machine" (no relation to the James Brown song), into a Black Album-era Prince funk workout, and comes up with his own Martin Denny-esque exotica on "Aloha e Blues." The album does have a bit too much filler in the form of short group member "statements," but they are mercifully short. ![]() Feeling the sampladelic heat from Stateside by such groups as De La Soul, Konishi and Takanami throw everything into the mix, beginning the kitsch recycling that would soon become their style, and from there, Shibuya-kei. This was Takao Tajima's last outing as vocalist, but such soul workouts as "Lip Service," "Yubikiri" (a Eiichi Ohtaki cover from the early 70s), and a hip-hop reworking of "Temptation Talk" from Bellissima! point toward his future work as leader of Original Love. Soft Landing on the Moon shows the band in transition, with a selection made up of radical reworkings of their past catalog, outtakes, covers, and some strong originals. If anything, Pizzicato Five's fourth album demonstrates that great things can come from disparate sources. ![]()
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