IMAI YUKO – Do Away
(1) Progtastic intro: Proper ‘you are in for something good!!’ stuff and then…oddly wonky keyboards. BIG vocals. Slightly disappointing lack of energy but lots of space and then The Start. (ii) Ahhhh Yeah. Good Stuff in a properly produced City Pop way. MV 3/5 HNT 9/13 K 9/10. Lovely. Time-out to think about this – electric sitar just happened. City Pop stuck around a lot longer than I thought it did. This is 1990, and all the evidence is that it’s still a genre in growth and progress. The loss of the brass might even make it better than early-80’s (WOW!) (3) Production on the vocals is beautiful on this album. It’s more showy than actually sexy (but that can work as well. Look don’t touch.) MV 3/5 HNT 10/13 K 7/10 (4) This is an album that doesn’t exactly sound like anybody else but drops the signifiers in a way that is comforting and evocative and BOTH OF ITS OWN TIME and also NOT REMOTELY NOSTALGIC but fecund with not-yet. The ‘Zen Arcade’ of City Pop. Lets say that. One of those Nighttime-in-Kobe songs K 8/10 MV 3/5 HNT 10/13. (5) Very nice Introduction – swirly piano and kbd which doesn’t quite excuse it from being The Slow One. HNT 5/13 K 8/10 MV 2/5. The music is strong enough to keep it afloat. (6) Great kbd intro and more Mihotasticism. Vocals more upfront here HNT 9/13 K 7/10 MV 2/5. Get Back In Time, I’m going back in Time… (7) I guess we deserved a slow one again. Not bad. (8) Hmmm. Overdone AOR. (8) GREAT last track. Kinobe. This album is Very Long, but the songs are long too.