Kikagaku Moyo has released their fifth and final full length album to much fanfare. Known for their amazing live performances I have always found the recordings to be lacking in comparison to the live sound. Perhaps that why it took me so long to get into the bands output. In fact I didn’t care for them much at all until I was able to see them live. They are definitely an acquired taste. That being said I can go back and find much more enjoyment in the back catalog. Which leads us to Kumoyo Island. Earlier in the year the band announced that they would be taking an indefinite hiatus as a band and that this would be their final release. So I had allot of high hopes for this to be a killer record. While i think it falls short in some respects it’s still a very solid release. The songs are much shorter in format but at times i feel like its ground that has already been explored. The standout tracks for me are the longer 6 minute pieces where they have to stretch their legs a bit. Probably biggest drawback here is perhaps they try and cover to much ground, at times within a single song.
Right from the start you have a typical KM track like “Monaka” to start that leads into a disco infused jam “Dancing Blue” into a the disjointed beat of “Effe” it creates an uneven listening experience which isn’t to say the tracks are not solid. The process repeats itself a few times. From the quite laid back and spacious “Meu Mar” to the banger track “Cardboard Pile” to the folksy “Gomugomu” which is followed by the odd heartbeat of “Daydream Soda”. After the brief sitar loops on “Field Of Tiger Lilies” we get another rocker “Yayoi, Iyayoi” with its Japanese lyrics which really works well. To close out the record we get a nice acoustic tune in “Nap Song” Followed by “Maison Silk Road” which is more of an experimental ambient piece which perhaps is an odd way to say goodbye from a bad know for their dynamic live performances but it does take them full circle.
There are some solid tunes here and the instrumentation is excellent but just when you are getting your groove on you get taken out of it by the next track. I guess what I am saying is that in my opinion I would probably drastically alter the song order here. So overall there is much here to like but is it a cohesive effort or an AOTY ? Not quite there but it’s very good. So goodbye to the excellent Kikagaku Moyo. I wish your final tour had come my way but the shows in Eindhoven and Minneapolis in 2019 were excellent.
Released by Guruguru Brain
