Since the mid-90s, duos have become an increasingly prominent force within the “anison” scene. Formed in 1993, angela are second only to Ali Project in their longevity working in the genre, though there’s more to the act’s pedigree than just their 23-year career. For one thing, vocalist atsuko is just as involved in composing songs as multi-instrumentalist KATSU. For another, since their 2003 debut album, angela have been increasingly adventurous in how they fill out the track lists of their albums. Not satisfied to pad the gaps between single tracks with formulaic J-pop, they’ve toyed with influences as varied as swing, ska and soul. Continuing this trend, LOVE & CARNIVAL may be their most diverse offering yet.
The album opens in conventional fashion with DEAD OR ALIVE, their opening theme for anime series “Sokyu no Fafner EXODUS”. This segues into EDM number Come On, which could easily have been co-produced by Nakata Yasutaka. Then, things go truly off-piste with the traditional-flavoured Kore, Natsumatsuri, for which KATSU takes a backseat while atsuko is accompanied by taiko drums, kotos, shamisens and a chorus of Japanese folk singers.
The album loses its way a little towards the middle as Kizuna, their ending theme for “K RETURN OF KINGS”, is sandwiched between two piano ballads, which have never been angela’s strong point. The brassy Jump Up injects some energy into proceedings and sets the stage for LOVE & CARNIVAL’s best song. Complete with thumping timbales, an infectious chorus and KATSU’s acoustic guitar work, EIEIO may be the most authentic-sounding attempt at Latin music ever sung in Japanese.
While none of the remaining songs can beat EIEIO in terms of quality, That’s Halloween quickly eclipses it as the album’s most surreal offering. We can only speculate as to how fond atsuko and KATSU may have been of HYDE’s HALLOWEEN JUNKY ORCHESTRA, but if they were, it would help explain why they’ve produced something that would make a worthy follow-up to HALLOWEEN PARTY.
For years now, albums have been of diminishing significance to J-pop artists. For instance, in ten years, current market leaders AKB48 have released 44 singles compared to just four studio albums. As such, it’s reassuring to see an act like angela treating the format as more than just a money-spinner, taking advantage of the broader canvas albums provide to create music so far removed from the content of their singles.
