4 Bonjour’s Parties
Some bands just make it hard for themselves. 4 Bonjour’s Parties practically insist that I DON’T buy their 2007 debut Pigments Drift Down To The Brook. For a start, the name of the Tokyo seven-piece is symptomatic of the overrated ’90s Shibuya-kei scene, suggesting an unwanted package of nostalgic vanilla pop lies in wait.
The title of the album impresses me even less: seemingly invented for Pitchfork reviewers with its lazy invocation of the kind of pastoral analogue electronica that automatically gets rewarded with an 8.2 review. No offence, but I already have at least ten as-yet-unheard albums of pastoral analogue electronica waiting for me at home, so I don’t need another, thanks. Shall we end today’s post right there?
No, let’s pursue this a little further. Los Angeles-based Mush Records have just picked up Pigments Drift Down To The Brook for international release after glowing reviews in Japan and they are kindly making lead single Satellite available as a free taster. Watch the video and download the song if you like it:
Again, 4 Bonjour’s Parties are going all out to dissuade me. I don’t really like this video. It’s clever and beautifully executed but leaves me cold. The story of the dog Laika, the first sentient creature in space, may be the subject of Satellite but that’s not something I really need to know. The storyboarded action diminishes not enhances the song, turning it into the kind of perfumed lifestyle product on sale at Beaux-Arts or Afternoon Tea. Before we go any further, I should balance this with a confession: I don’t really like any music videos that aren’t straight-to-camera performances.
However, there’s something about Koji Ueno’s vocal that gets under the skin. Wracked with the same quizzical sense of detachment as that of Maher Shalal Hash Baz’s Tori Kudo, it’s augmented on this record by light and skippy female vocals from his cast of magical musical supporters. Unlike Maher though, 4 Bonjour’s Parties tend towards lush, expansive arrangements that suggest commercial success is nothing to be afraid of.
This next video finally persuades me. Watching 4 Bonjour’s Parties onstage is like seeing alchemy performed live. The seven-member cast fulfill their roles with minimal fuss, hand-sewing what in chamber pop circles must always be referred to as a ‘quilt’ of elegant song in a performance as genuinely beautiful as it is shorn of theatrics. I recommend this album:
March 31, 2008 at 9:54 pm
They remind me of a japanese band called Melting Holidays. That last live performace was amazing!