Customer Reviews

Surf Bungaku Kamakura

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

At first, I was a little skeptical buying this album. I'm the kinda guy who goes on Wikipedia, analyzes the different track names, albums lengths and so forth of the bands I like before purchasing. Well, I purchased this as a birthday present to myself, as a toss up with Fanclub. Let me tell you, I'm so glad I got this album =D

At 31 minutes, it's not the longest album you'll listen to, but inside that glorious half-hour, you experience so many different emotions and images that it feels like so much longer! The album tracks are all named after stops along the Enoshima Electric Rail, and each has a different little "tag word" that gives somewhat of an impression of that song. The first song, Fujisawa Loser, is also their single.

The songs all have a slightly different sound than what Ajikan normally goes for, which is both refreshing and a little jarring. I say jarring just to mean that it takes a little to get used to. They create many interesting melodies, and I swear that you will not be able to get Inamuragasaki Jane out of your head (Track 6)

I would recommend Fujisawa Loser, a solid single and good first track; Koshigoe Crybaby, a track that gives a nice rhythm and sense of progression; Inamuragasaki Jane, perhaps one of my favorite songs by them now; Kamakura Goodbye, an amazing last track and a slow, wistful train-ride of a song.

Another great release from Asian Kung-fu Generation!!!

Many fans feel this particular album builds on "World World World"; Asian Kung-Fu Generation's 4th full length album which marked the beginning of their current relatively pop and very melodic sound. However, "Surf Bungaku Kamakura" also contains a good bit of their original rock style similar to that which you could find in an earlier album like "Sol-Fa". In my opinion the mixture creatures a great new sound and a CD that you will definitely want to own as a part of your collection.

"Fujisawa Loser" is my personal favorite on this disc; it's a very upbeat and rhythmic tune. Similarly upbeat and refreshing is "Inamuragasaki Jane". "Hase Sanz", "Yuigahama Kite" and others lean more towards the heavier rock sound. And even still there's "Kamakura Goodbye", a slow and sweet ending track.

My only complaint would be the actual length of the album. The majority of the songs are only about 2 and a half minutes in length. Also I believe either a total of two or three of the songs on this disc were released on various LPs prior to this albums completion. So there's even less new material considering the cost.

Overall, I'd say this CD is a real keeper for the hardcore or even casual AKFG fan. But for anyone just beginning with this band you may feel a bit dissatisfied with the quantity of songs with reagrd to the cost.

This really isn't their full length 5th album. Instead, it's another collection of songs that never made it into an album with few new songs added - thus, the quality suffers. Do NOT get confused by this and rush to buy this album. It starts out as typical AKG then... becomes a carbon copy of Weezer, in a bad way. If anyone needs a used album of this, please contact me!