[Review] [Album] Perfume; GAME (2008)
Haha, this is far from my best review. I took a bit more liberty with the personal opinions and interjections here and less of a focus on trying to word things fancily. I hope you all still enjoy it!
Perfume; GAME
Release Date: April 16, 2008
Language: Japanese, some English
Genre(s): Electronic, pop
Purchase: YesAsia
01. ポリリズム (Polyrhythm) [PV]
02. plastic smile
03. GAME
04. Baby cruising Love [PV]
05. チョコレイト・ディスコ (Chocolate Disco) [PV]
06. マカロニ (Macaroni) [PV]
07. セラミックガール (Ceramic Girl) [PV]
08. Take me Take me
09. シークレットシークレット (Secret Secret) [PV]
10. Butterfly [PV]
11. Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow [PV]
12. Puppy love
GAME is Perfume's first album with original material on it, second if you count the best-of. As everyone should know, Perfume is A~chan, Nocchi, and Kashiyuka and they've been around since 2001, only been produced by Nakata Yasutaka since 2003. (I reviewed their latest album, Triangle, before this one. Why am I going out of order?)
I go way back with Perfume. About as far back as a few months before Polyrhythm came out (okay, so not that far back). This song is really the best choice to open the album with, as it starts immediately and the build-up to the chorus is steady and really quite epic.
There is an interesting story around Polyrhythm. Not only was it their breakthrough hit, catapulting them into the Japanese conscious, but apparently Ystk had to fight to get it accepted by Perfume's management? LOL. The issue at hand (if I recall correctly) was the repetitive section just before the break, they wanted that out and felt that it wouldn't be well-received. If you've ever wondered why there's an extra short edit of Polyrhythm on the single, that's likely the reason why. Luckily, Ystk won, and Polyrhythm as-is got released as the A-side!
The PV is intriguing given that it features many "natural" things, such as flowers and the earth and whatnot, whereas I feel electronic music is more classically disposed towards robotic imagery and sound. This is part of Perfume's charm, possibly, that they sing in such monotone and unnatural vocal effects, but the emotions still come out in their voices.
plastic smile, when I initially heard it, reminded me of the perfect song to go shopping to. The overall mood of this track (as my source tells me, since I couldn't find a concrete translation of this anywhere) is about the monotony of a simple existence and the ease of which one could accept this, and this extends to the relationship the speaker is in. (Also, my source told me that it's possible to interpret this as that they want to bypass the next five tracks and just get to Take me Take me). I feel that the meaning manifests quite well into the composition of the song itself, as after it begins it doesn't get much more remarkable throughout the whole thing, maintaining a persistent beat.
GAME is by far one of the more popular songs off this album, and it seems to me that Perfume's fans tend to prefer "harder" electro numbers vs. the group's more light-hearted fare (the popularity of edge and its variants later on testifies to this notion). It opens with some killer bass and guitars quickly transition in.
To be completely honest, though, GAME never was too terribly impressive for me! It drags on and on, and is almost a more lame precursor to edge with its Try the new world line. Definitely not a favorite of mine out of Perfume's discography.
Aaaaah, Baby cruising Love. I was in love with this song when I first heard it. There's a heavy piano backbone throughout the track, and Ystk + piano = love (to me!). :'D The lyrical content also inexplicably charms me, dealing with the concept of looking ahead quite seriously (Just continue looking ahead / It's scary and we can't do anything about it), giving it a touch of realism. For people who enjoy piano in their electro, you'd certainly enjoy this.
The lyrical distribution is notable in that we get some amazing solos from each of the members, mostly from A~chan IMO. And the PV is incredibly cute and wintry, with an awesome lightshow. I highly recommend it.
Chocolate Disco... About the hopes that a girl's feelings will be properly communicated to the boy she likes, using Valentine's Day as a ruse. It's also one of the most repetitive songs in existence, but oddly this never bothered me? It was the first time I ever picked up on some of Perfume's iconic choreography, with the little shimmying move prevalent throughout the chorus. It's overall a very fun track for me to listen to and I enjoy it, but I know there's haters out there!
I also strangely love the PV even though I should call their outfits hot messes. I just can't take anything about Chocolate Disco seriously enough to criticize it. The clothes remind me of what a little girl would match together and wear with pride. (How can anyone take Chocolate Disco seriously? Look at the title. It's a disco. Of chocolate.)
Oh, but of course that jovial song transitions in Macaroni. When this came out, I remember how impressed the community (and myself) was with its kind of...it's not as heavily electronic as any of Perfume's other songs. It's very percussive and almost house-esque, showing another side of Perfume's music, and one fans of Ystk should already be acquainted with.
The lyrics of Macaroni are just heartwarming. We want to be like this forever, don't we? / How much time can we spend snuggling with each other?. sjakskahsks HAPPY. The PV is beautiful, too, it was different from Perfume's usual, featuring them walking outdoors and no lip-syncing or anything of that sort. Almost like a home video to me.
Unfortunately, I've never much cared for Ceramic Girl. The general composition and style of it remind me of plastic smile part two or something. I just...yeah, ain't got much to say here. Moving on!
Take me Take me was Perfume's sexiest song at the time this album was released. Nowadays, I'd consider Kiss and Music as a sort of follow-up. As with Chocolate Disco, the lyrics here are largely repetitive, and yet somehow I don't find myself getting bored with them. At all.
No, no, truly the standout in this song is THE AMAZING AND POETIC ENGLISH LYRICS. It rained for a time / beautiful sight. The harmonies that lurk underneath that line every time it comes up. For lack of better words, it's orgasmic. There's also a little bit of underlying acoustics, too, which add a nice touch.
Secret Secret is...definitely a Perfume classic. I love lyrics that are self-aware, especially in idol music, and Secret Secret has them. The song is from the perspective of a fan, and in each verse the person with whom the fan speaks to is different (the first verse is a fan talking to a star [in their mind], second is the fan conversing with a second fan, and the last is a fan reflecting; thanks, Perfume City). With such lines as I want to know the real you and You told me a lie with the sweetest smile / You are always a secret, I can't help but be hearkened back to my days of following Hello! Project almost exclusively out of the Japanese music industry and dealing with the insanity of wota and the nature of idolism in general. So this song hits close to home with me in a good way.
It opens somewhat eerily with an echoing "la la", capturing some weird sense of loneliness (in my opinion). Then it just turns into another awesome Perfume track, with excellent atmosphere and beat. It also follows a chorus-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-chorus format, from what I can tell.
The PV is interesting even without the song. It takes a different approach, acting as a sort of chronicle of Perfume's history, from when they were obscure to now with their stardom and well-known reputation in the J-pop world. The choreography is also notable in how it recycles all of their moves from previous songs. All in all, this was a great album track to pick as promotional material, I have to say.
Butterfly opens with forest sounds, quickly transitioning into a beautiful...yeah music terminology fail here. It's pretty, okay? So just go listen to it.
The lyrics of Butterfly feel almost like a continuation of Secret Secret to me. Fly away / We can't capture you / Ah / How beautiful. Though anytime I hear the "fly away" part, it almost sounds like "far away" to me. As with any interestingly-pronounced Perfume line, I have to question if it was on purpose or just accidental.
The PV is incredibly cheap, but somehow I can't blame them. It wasn't really done seriously, just for a VTR in a concert, so... Yet I love the flashing silhouette parts, that was the most lovely and creative touch and makes watching the PV worth your while. I almost wish that hadn't been used for Butterfly, but on a regular single A-side's PV.
Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow and Chocolate Disco from before were both included on the Fan Service -Sweet- single that precluded Polyrhythm. I've always felt strangely about their inclusion on this album, though, they almost stick out too much for me with their dated sound. Not that they're bad! Twinkle Snow has very cute lyrics, and awesomely enough, the chorus rhymes. Ystk ♥ It's a great wintry song, and the PV is very pretty, par with Electro World's on the general environment.
Puppy love is the cutest song ever, basically about a boy who pretends to be all cool and uninterested in his girlfriend when he's really a softie underneath. ♥♥ This has an excellent beat and rhythm, utilizing more traditional and acoustic-sounding instruments while still maintaining that electro charm underneath it all. For the longest time it reminded me of like...Snoopy? LMAO. Well, it is puppy love!
One of my favorite albums out of everything I listen to, highly recommended! Great introduction to Perfume (although I reviewed this and Triangle out of order, haha).
Overall Score: A
Perfume; GAME
Release Date: April 16, 2008
Language: Japanese, some English
Genre(s): Electronic, pop
Purchase: YesAsia
01. ポリリズム (Polyrhythm) [PV]
02. plastic smile
03. GAME
04. Baby cruising Love [PV]
05. チョコレイト・ディスコ (Chocolate Disco) [PV]
06. マカロニ (Macaroni) [PV]
07. セラミックガール (Ceramic Girl) [PV]
08. Take me Take me
09. シークレットシークレット (Secret Secret) [PV]
10. Butterfly [PV]
11. Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow [PV]
12. Puppy love
GAME is Perfume's first album with original material on it, second if you count the best-of. As everyone should know, Perfume is A~chan, Nocchi, and Kashiyuka and they've been around since 2001, only been produced by Nakata Yasutaka since 2003. (I reviewed their latest album, Triangle, before this one. Why am I going out of order?)
I go way back with Perfume. About as far back as a few months before Polyrhythm came out (okay, so not that far back). This song is really the best choice to open the album with, as it starts immediately and the build-up to the chorus is steady and really quite epic.
There is an interesting story around Polyrhythm. Not only was it their breakthrough hit, catapulting them into the Japanese conscious, but apparently Ystk had to fight to get it accepted by Perfume's management? LOL. The issue at hand (if I recall correctly) was the repetitive section just before the break, they wanted that out and felt that it wouldn't be well-received. If you've ever wondered why there's an extra short edit of Polyrhythm on the single, that's likely the reason why. Luckily, Ystk won, and Polyrhythm as-is got released as the A-side!
The PV is intriguing given that it features many "natural" things, such as flowers and the earth and whatnot, whereas I feel electronic music is more classically disposed towards robotic imagery and sound. This is part of Perfume's charm, possibly, that they sing in such monotone and unnatural vocal effects, but the emotions still come out in their voices.
plastic smile, when I initially heard it, reminded me of the perfect song to go shopping to. The overall mood of this track (as my source tells me, since I couldn't find a concrete translation of this anywhere) is about the monotony of a simple existence and the ease of which one could accept this, and this extends to the relationship the speaker is in. (Also, my source told me that it's possible to interpret this as that they want to bypass the next five tracks and just get to Take me Take me). I feel that the meaning manifests quite well into the composition of the song itself, as after it begins it doesn't get much more remarkable throughout the whole thing, maintaining a persistent beat.
GAME is by far one of the more popular songs off this album, and it seems to me that Perfume's fans tend to prefer "harder" electro numbers vs. the group's more light-hearted fare (the popularity of edge and its variants later on testifies to this notion). It opens with some killer bass and guitars quickly transition in.
To be completely honest, though, GAME never was too terribly impressive for me! It drags on and on, and is almost a more lame precursor to edge with its Try the new world line. Definitely not a favorite of mine out of Perfume's discography.
Aaaaah, Baby cruising Love. I was in love with this song when I first heard it. There's a heavy piano backbone throughout the track, and Ystk + piano = love (to me!). :'D The lyrical content also inexplicably charms me, dealing with the concept of looking ahead quite seriously (Just continue looking ahead / It's scary and we can't do anything about it), giving it a touch of realism. For people who enjoy piano in their electro, you'd certainly enjoy this.
The lyrical distribution is notable in that we get some amazing solos from each of the members, mostly from A~chan IMO. And the PV is incredibly cute and wintry, with an awesome lightshow. I highly recommend it.
Chocolate Disco... About the hopes that a girl's feelings will be properly communicated to the boy she likes, using Valentine's Day as a ruse. It's also one of the most repetitive songs in existence, but oddly this never bothered me? It was the first time I ever picked up on some of Perfume's iconic choreography, with the little shimmying move prevalent throughout the chorus. It's overall a very fun track for me to listen to and I enjoy it, but I know there's haters out there!
I also strangely love the PV even though I should call their outfits hot messes. I just can't take anything about Chocolate Disco seriously enough to criticize it. The clothes remind me of what a little girl would match together and wear with pride. (How can anyone take Chocolate Disco seriously? Look at the title. It's a disco. Of chocolate.)
Oh, but of course that jovial song transitions in Macaroni. When this came out, I remember how impressed the community (and myself) was with its kind of...it's not as heavily electronic as any of Perfume's other songs. It's very percussive and almost house-esque, showing another side of Perfume's music, and one fans of Ystk should already be acquainted with.
The lyrics of Macaroni are just heartwarming. We want to be like this forever, don't we? / How much time can we spend snuggling with each other?. sjakskahsks HAPPY. The PV is beautiful, too, it was different from Perfume's usual, featuring them walking outdoors and no lip-syncing or anything of that sort. Almost like a home video to me.
Unfortunately, I've never much cared for Ceramic Girl. The general composition and style of it remind me of plastic smile part two or something. I just...yeah, ain't got much to say here. Moving on!
Take me Take me was Perfume's sexiest song at the time this album was released. Nowadays, I'd consider Kiss and Music as a sort of follow-up. As with Chocolate Disco, the lyrics here are largely repetitive, and yet somehow I don't find myself getting bored with them. At all.
No, no, truly the standout in this song is THE AMAZING AND POETIC ENGLISH LYRICS. It rained for a time / beautiful sight. The harmonies that lurk underneath that line every time it comes up. For lack of better words, it's orgasmic. There's also a little bit of underlying acoustics, too, which add a nice touch.
Secret Secret is...definitely a Perfume classic. I love lyrics that are self-aware, especially in idol music, and Secret Secret has them. The song is from the perspective of a fan, and in each verse the person with whom the fan speaks to is different (the first verse is a fan talking to a star [in their mind], second is the fan conversing with a second fan, and the last is a fan reflecting; thanks, Perfume City). With such lines as I want to know the real you and You told me a lie with the sweetest smile / You are always a secret, I can't help but be hearkened back to my days of following Hello! Project almost exclusively out of the Japanese music industry and dealing with the insanity of wota and the nature of idolism in general. So this song hits close to home with me in a good way.
It opens somewhat eerily with an echoing "la la", capturing some weird sense of loneliness (in my opinion). Then it just turns into another awesome Perfume track, with excellent atmosphere and beat. It also follows a chorus-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-chorus format, from what I can tell.
The PV is interesting even without the song. It takes a different approach, acting as a sort of chronicle of Perfume's history, from when they were obscure to now with their stardom and well-known reputation in the J-pop world. The choreography is also notable in how it recycles all of their moves from previous songs. All in all, this was a great album track to pick as promotional material, I have to say.
Butterfly opens with forest sounds, quickly transitioning into a beautiful...yeah music terminology fail here. It's pretty, okay? So just go listen to it.
The lyrics of Butterfly feel almost like a continuation of Secret Secret to me. Fly away / We can't capture you / Ah / How beautiful. Though anytime I hear the "fly away" part, it almost sounds like "far away" to me. As with any interestingly-pronounced Perfume line, I have to question if it was on purpose or just accidental.
The PV is incredibly cheap, but somehow I can't blame them. It wasn't really done seriously, just for a VTR in a concert, so... Yet I love the flashing silhouette parts, that was the most lovely and creative touch and makes watching the PV worth your while. I almost wish that hadn't been used for Butterfly, but on a regular single A-side's PV.
Twinkle Snow Powdery Snow and Chocolate Disco from before were both included on the Fan Service -Sweet- single that precluded Polyrhythm. I've always felt strangely about their inclusion on this album, though, they almost stick out too much for me with their dated sound. Not that they're bad! Twinkle Snow has very cute lyrics, and awesomely enough, the chorus rhymes. Ystk ♥ It's a great wintry song, and the PV is very pretty, par with Electro World's on the general environment.
Puppy love is the cutest song ever, basically about a boy who pretends to be all cool and uninterested in his girlfriend when he's really a softie underneath. ♥♥ This has an excellent beat and rhythm, utilizing more traditional and acoustic-sounding instruments while still maintaining that electro charm underneath it all. For the longest time it reminded me of like...Snoopy? LMAO. Well, it is puppy love!
One of my favorite albums out of everything I listen to, highly recommended! Great introduction to Perfume (although I reviewed this and Triangle out of order, haha).
Overall Score: A