"It’s been far too long, Round Table.
I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again: Round Table never fails to capture my mood in the best way possible. Every album they put out (all three of them, to be fair) exhibits full control over the music, and the sophistication is in another league. However, I was just a bit concerned when I saw the release notice for Distance, because there’s a whopping five singles/b-sides on the album. Given that the album’s total length is really only twelve songs (ignoring the useless intro and outro songs), that’s not a lot of wiggle room for original content. And while this is nothing new for Round Table, I can’t help but feel like each album is a bit of a risk, because there’s not too much room for error, given the small amount of content they’re working with. Nevertheless, they haven’t messed up majorly in any of their albums so far, so I’m not exactly about to reprimand them prematurely, especially considering how solid this album actually ends up being.
Skipping the singles, one of which I’ve already given an analysis of here, the first track Sayonara is really worth noting, because it’s perfect Round Table. Every album they manage to produce one song that completely steals the show, and surprisingly enough it’s never a single. April had Beautiful, which was a b-side, and Nino had Message, which as far as I can remember was also a b-side. Sayonara is an original track produced for the album, and it really manages to shine. Round Table tends to do best when given an upbeat tune and lots of layering in the music, and all of that presents itself wonderfully in Sayonara, along with a bit of catchiness in the vocals, especially during the chorus.
The sixth track, Toki wo Koete, is also a fairly interesting one. I really didn’t like it too much at first, and it never really seemed to stick in my mind overall. However, after listening to it several times, it’s really started to grow on me, and now it actually ranks fairly highly on my mental list of Round Table songs. The song’s very smooth, and is actually a pseudo-duet between Katsutoshi Kitagawa (who used to do the vocals for Round Table before Nino came along) - think Uinona. It’s an interesting song, very laid back and, at least for me, it really grows better over time with repeated listening.
Finally, I’d like to mention Takaramono. Ah, Takaramono. I remember when it came out on the Koi wo Shiteru single (in a ‘homemade demo’ version), I absolutely abhorred it. It was easily what caused the Koi wo Shiteru single to lose serious points in my book, and the song felt, in an uncharacteristic move on Round Table’s part, very sloppy. But things have definitely changed, and for the better. It sounds remarkably similar to the track that precedes it, Yokogao (which I expected to be amazing having heard it before as the insert song for Aria the Origination), and has actually become my favorite track on the album. While I’d have to give the nod to Sayonara in terms of overall quality, I feel that given how terrible the demo version on the single was, as well as the level of sophistication and catchiness in the song, I can’t help but love this song and come back to it over and over. A beautiful piano track plays in the background and accompanies the delicate rhythm section, and the composition allows for an extremely complex and rich song, that just exudes quality. Very well played, Round Table.
I could go on and on about how much I love this album, but there’s really only one way to vindicate my obsession with this band: check them out for yourself. You’ll either love them or hate them, as I’ve found very few people that have found them only so-so. If you hate them, all you have to lose is a few minutes, and if you love them, you’ll be able to understand exactly why I love this band so very very much. So check them out, post impressions, and see if you can find what I’ve found in all of their awesome songs."
right man. so now's my review, or synopsis, or whatever.
right now, my personal favourites are sayonara, koi wo shiteru, ahh everysongs la. the songs are really very refreshing, and it mixes genres together. like jazz and pop and whatever. from a mishmash of things u think that its a futile attempt. but its good. like real good.
the time when i was introduced to this band was after watching Welcome to the NHK, a very interesting anime that is my cult favourite. ok. time passes very quickly when u listen to their music, and its really very entertaining. I still haven't lost interest in the album after i've listened to it for a week plus. that's the best part.
" Round Table tends to do best when given an upbeat tune and lots of layering in the music, and all of that presents itself wonderfully in Sayonara, along with a bit of catchiness in the vocals, especially during the chorus."
yep. this is really true of the band. the reason why the album keeps a hold of me is due to the fact that there's something new to listen to in everytime. real good.
"it really grows better over time with repeated listening."
this senctence really hold true for me. i would'nt be listening to this over and over and before i sleep (yes, i do listen to songs before i sleep) if this is not true.
do give the album a try. You’ll either love them or hate them, as I’ve found very few people that have found them only so-so. If you hate them, all you have to lose is a few minutes, and if you love them, you’ll be able to understand exactly why I love this band so very very much. So check them out, post impressions, and see if you can find what I’ve found in all of their awesome songs. => my views
one very important thing.
EDIT: Review taken from "http://unchained.nu/logomania/?p=41"
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