Japan “Gentlemen Take Polaroids”

sfilzen — Mon, 19 Dec 2022 19:20:01 +0000

Japan “Gentlemen Take Polaroids” 1980. Highly polished new wave synthpop, Gentlemen Take Polaroids was Japan’s fourth LP, their second-to-last before breaking up in ’82. The title track “Gentlemen Take Polaroids” was the sole single released and had modest success, reaching #60 in the UK. A second single from the album, “Nightporter,” was released just after the band broke up in ’82; the remixed version went to #29. While I’m generally a huge fan of 80’s British New Wave and synthpop (it really was the first music I remember as a kid that I could claim as my own discovery), I’m not into this record at all. (I wan’t even into Japan back in the day, when they were grouped together and promoted with Duran Duran). It is glossed to the point of removing all warmth, soul and groove. Then occasionally sprinkled in is the ubiquitous 80’s saxophone (like on the ballad “Burning Bridges“) which, bizarrely, gives the record even less soul. There is some sax on the more danceable “Method of Dance,” which is one of the better songs on the LP as it is one of the few songs that generates a mood other than icy indifference, as well as on “Ain’t That Peculiar,” which has some interesting world beats and sounds, but the song ends up feeling like a Culture Club track stripped of its sly humor. It is technically a good record, in that the electronics and production are all meticulous so the sound is excellent but engineering does not usually equal art.

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Japan “Assemblage”

sfilzen — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 20:43:59 +0000

Japan “Assemblage” 1981. A compilation album of Japan’s early recordings. I picked this up fairly recently; I’ve never really listened to Japan but see them cited frequently as influencers to many bands I’m into. (I also remember seeing a lot of Japan records in the 80′s and liking David Sylvian’s new romantic/new wave hair.) Assemblage is a mix of art rock, post-punk and new wave. “Communist China” has lots of crazy experimental effects and vocal acrobatics. “Rhodesia” has a laid-back reggae flavor, the synth’s organ button turned up high. “Life in Tokyo” and “Quiet Life” are disco-y new wave (and probably my favorite tracks as they remind me of early Duran Duran big time, most especially “Planet Earth” and “Hold Back the Rain”). Two covers also appear on Assemblage: Velvet Underground’s “All Tomorrow’s Parties” and Smokey Robinson’s “I Second That Emotion.” Both are almost unrecognizable, the former with its upfront beat and saxophone via keyboards, the latter because of the vocal delivery and the way it sounds like it was recorded underwater and through a big squishy pillow.

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Japan “Gentlemen Take Polaroids”

Japan “Assemblage”