Hip, fun, and more fun.
Maria | Hong Kong | 05/23/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"You've got to admit that Love Psychedelico have a sense of humour. After all, not many bands would facetiously name their debut album The Greatest Hits. Since then, Kumi and Naoki have carved out a niche for their upmarket-Aoyama mix of fragmented love songs to trippy '60s-inspired psychedelic music: anthems for the 'freeter' generation. The band's main strengths are a keen ear for exuberant music, a love of rhythm and an ability to make their songs sound effortlessly hip: traits happily evident on Love Psychedelico III, their third album. Plunging straight into the snappy beat of Everybody Needs Somebody, Kumi switches effortlessly back and forth between Japanese and English, while the band's trademark catchy guitar accompaniment and a gentler melody characterise My Last Fight, an up-yours love song: "Subete ga owaru kara, inochi no my last fight (Because everything is ending, my last fight in life)...what did I see in you?" The band's sound has matured in the two years since their previous album with tentative musical exploration and a hint of mellowness that suits Kumi (whose vocals used to be overly aggressive at times) on tracks like Hadaka no Ousama, an acoustic country-folk tune - "ganbou ga kaze ni fukarerumama (wishes are blown about like that by the wind)". Though it begins with sugarplum notions of happy dreams, Hello quickly disenchants you ("You tear off my wings") before ironically ending with a disillusioned "I say goodbye". Still, Kumi and Naoki seem to enjoy themselves so much, concluding with a whimsical "suki na no wa grapefruits" ("What I like is grapefruit"), that being artistically tormented never seemed like such breezy fun."
Solid third outing from the best band in Japan
Dustin Perry | Sagamihara, Japan | 04/29/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Since the release of their first single all the way to their brand-new third album, Love Psychedelico have yet to disappoint, offering 13 tracks of solid, meticulous music that could make a lifetime fan out of a first-time listener.
The aptly titled "Love Psychedelico III" (awesome Led Zeppelin reference) is a far cry from their first two albums, "The Greatest Hits" and "Love Psychedelic Orchestra," but is no less fantastic. Where "Hits" and "Orchestra" established that LP was more than capable of crafting tight pop pieces as well as melodic ballads, "III" expands on that, presenting straight R&B, 60s folk numbers and even crunchy prog-rock.
And it's in these new genres where LP truly shine. "Mind across the universe" channels the guitar work of early Tool, but mixes it with straight-pop melodies. In "all over love," lead singer KUMI could be mistaken for Japanese R&B hieress Misia as she quivers, "you still can turn me on" while backed up by a hypnotyic beat. The first single from the album, "Naked King," is so Dylan-esque, you could imagine the pair doing a duet in the near future.
If you're looking for the hands-down best band in Japan right now--and maybe ever--pick up this album, as well as LP's first two. The phrase "third time's the charm" doesn't apply here because never before has a band's body of work been so consecutively flawless."
