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Sep 26, 2010

Soil & "Pimp" Sessions - Pimp of the Year

Ah, one of the most energetic and lively bands to follow. Soil & "Pimp" Sessions is not only hard to type out every time I try, they're also a jazz band with more on fun and power than even many rock bands I know of. Jazz is an amazing genre; it can be both so soothing and smooth, yet give me the urge to start ending the world.

Pimp of the Year is one of the albums that manages to allow me the latter. Filled with tracks of all kinds of magnitude, it's a sonic blast of immense density. From the get-go track Memai, it assaults your ears with what can only be described as pure love for music. I just love the ways the trumpet and sax go together.

Speaking of Memai, let's start with that. As the song starts with "I can't breathe, oh my God", the furious nature of the track just leaves you breathless. Can't even be described.

Before you know it, it moves on to Summer Goddess, and it's exactly that. It makes me think of the beaches, the sun, and all the fun you can have under the palm trees. Then the sax kicks in, ooh. The way the music just flows up and down reminds me of the waves. It finishes cleanly with select few notes of the piano, just right.

Following it, we have Worldwide, and it starts off from the previous piano notes. On a somewhat more serious tone, but lively anyhow, reminds me of a plot to take over the world in ways. Gently. Yet actively. Kind of a boss music, if the boss was insane.

Crush! is another energetic song, littered with various screams here and there (I have no idea what he's trying to shout. Actually, S&PS's Shacho, the agitator, does that often throughout their songs, inserting random words or phrases here and there. It's really unique, as it's not really lyrical, but adds something to the song. That said, honestly, this is one of S&PS's relatively generic songs. Listenable, but it's not something that pours out something new.

Sabotage on the other hand, reminds me of some kind of a spy action scene. Not the actual sneaking around of spying; by this I mean 007 style, coming out in the open and blowing things up, and hopping from cover to cover.

In a weird change again, Scoop Out turns out to be somewhat like Crush!. Another pacey song, but doesn't really give me anything. No, I'm not thinking of scooping ice cream out of a tub. It does have very weird twisting though, which I like.

Sahara does indeed remind me of a desert. A somewhat lengthier track from the album at just over 7 minutes, it feels somewhat exotic. It's the way the sax plays in the back initially, I think. Really brings out the feel. Can you imagine jazzing it up in middle of the Sahara desert? The original dry exotic feel drops from around third way in, but it changes to something else to listen to. Perhaps the sun got to them? It does come back around though.

Ha Hen (Splinter) starts off quite differently to other tracks. This is a much smoother offering from S&PS, starting off with the piano gently. I'm not sure what the picture is, but it's somewhat soothing, sort of a respite away from the harsher jazz previously listed.

The Black Widow Blues keeps up with the smoothness from before, but delves somewhat deeper. The bass is very prominent, and it moves the music here. A grumpy spider annoyed at having to wait for its next meal, perhaps. Definitely black and blue at the same time.

The White Widow on the other hand exchanges to a much more synthy kind of the previous track. Shacho says a lot here, but I'm not sure what. Feels almost like an intermission of a song, a gap between it and the next song. But perhaps calling it an intermission would have been a waste for its slight changes from The Black Widow Blues.

Back to the beat-filled music, I-rony is next on the playlist. The way the trumpet and sax plays does remind me of irony somehow, as if to taunt me. Very playful, like a little kid running around generally annoying everyone around.

Last Long is still keeping up the energy, but it does feel strained. I guess after an almost entire album of action, you gotta rest right? Hair of the dog style; just a bit less but more of the usual.

But no, you thought wrong, because here comes Satsuriku New Wave. Unlike any of the few previous tracks, this one stands out right back out to something completely unique. I didn't know there was a robot voice singing involved in S&PS! It goes straight back to what the album about all about; fun, moving, jazzy screamings all over! Perfectly ends the album.

I love this album. It has its moments of dull even when there's plenty of action around (perhaps I am getting too old for this), but it nevertheless delivers what I have always come to expect from S&PS.

2 comments:

  1. I am impressed by your blog

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  2. Interesting, this and your Hiromi introduced me to two acts I had heard of but knew nothing about. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete