ARTIST: We're From Japan!
TITLE: Now Breathe
LABEL: Zankyo Records
GENRE: Instrumental Rock
BITRATE: 205kbps avg
PLAYTIME: 0h 48m total
RELEASE DATE: 2008-10-08
RIP DATE: 2008-10-27
Track List
----------
1. Black Bag Work 3:50
2. Bleed 2:30
3. Climb Mountain, O Snail 10:16
4. There Are Horses In The Streets 6:57
5. In Every Hive, A Queen 6:19
6. Run Shoot Don't Panic 5:32
7. September 13, 1848 12:39
Release Notes:
http://www.myspace.com/wearefromjapan
First things first: WeÆre from Japan! is actually from Portland, Oregon. But
they may as well be from Japan, because theyÆre signed to Zankyo Records, and
their overseas fan base adores them. ItÆs always embarrassing when another
country ôgetsö the music of a quality act before the home country, but even
Jesus wasnÆt appreciated in his home town. I, for one, would love to see this
band break big in the U.S. TheyÆve been paying their dues for five years now,
theyÆre enormously appealing, and they have demonstrated that they are willing
to take creative, counter-instinctive risks to further their sound.
WeÆre from Japan!Æs last album, 48 Minutes, 07 Seconds, Then the Open Air
(available domestically from Jackpot Records) was a solid post-rock effort that
presented the requisite builds, drops and crescendos, but did so in a relatively
unassuming way. Standout track ôLarsen Bö concluded in a wash of strings that
peaked all too early; other tracks tended toward the languid and soothing. While
there was nothing wrong with this, and the album was certainly worth purchasing,
it was not especially memorable, and the listening experience soon faded from
memory.
How then would the band improve their sound? Oddly enough, by dropping the piano
and strings, a move that I would normally never recommend. Many post-rock bands
would kill to have these elements, but either canÆt afford them or canÆt find
suitable, talented candidates. (Two are now available!) Then again, Saxon Shore
performs live with four guitarists and a drummer, and they do just fine. WeÆre
from Japan! sounds a little like that East Coast collective, and a little like
the recent incarnation of Gifts From Enola. While not particularly unique, they
do modern post-rock particularly well, a welcome addition to the field during a
time in which we are suffering a dearth of truly qualified performers. Losing
the piano and strings has freed the band to be more aggressive: their peaks are
higher, and they have shoveled extra guitar into their valleys.
In the age of iTunes, the pressure is off of groups to present coherent albums.
Many are content to coast on the buzz created by one or two catchy tunes. ThatÆs
why itÆs so refreshing to encounter an album that offers not a single duff
track, an album that can be listened to repeatedly, an album that offers
different highlights with every encounter. Usually I find that after a few
listens, certain tracks begin to present themselves as disposable. Not so in
this case. That being said, there are two tracks on Now Breathe that truly stand
out, albeit in diametrically-opposed ways.
ôThere Are Horses in the Streetsö is the track that makes the listener put down
the book, drop the spatula, put the caller on hold, stop texting, sit up and
take notice. It starts with a bang, a rustle of drums, a squelch of guitars, a
melodic propulsion, and swiftly enters into a series of swoops and swoons which
leave the listener breathless and the woofers gasping for air. The Big Moment
arrives four minutes in, as the song topples into a pounding, half-tempo trough.
The albumÆs highlight, however, is the closing piece, the nearly 13-minute
ôSeptember 13, 1848.ö On this date, rail worker Phineas Gage had a tamping iron
blasted through his frontal lobes. The 26-year old, with a bar sticking out of
his eye, walked toward assistance, sat upright all the way to town, and lived
another twelve years. His personality, however, was afterwards observed to
change from ôhard-working and responsibleö to ôcapricious and profane.ö WeÆre
from Japan!Æs truly epic piece seems to soundtrack the accident, the emotional
fluctuation, the slow, sad retreat from polite society. (The complete stop at
3:36 likely represents the moment after the impaling blow.) If not for the
absence of vocals, ôSeptember 13, 1848ö would be right at home on an iLiKETRAiNS
album. One of the tracks of the year? Absolutely.
Three years ago, WeÆre From Japan! ended up on TSBÆs list of ô25 Missed Releases
of 2005.ö WeÆd like to think that this corrects the injustice, so take it from
me: DonÆt miss out on this one!
-Richard Allen