Customer Reviews

Cell-Scape

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I first heard Melt-Banana years ago on John Peel's tiny little 30-minute space on the BBC World Service. Almost as soon as the song began, it was over. And while it made an immediate, jolting impression, it took me a while to get around to trying them out.

Now that I've "discovered" what they're all about, I can say that Melt-Banana is one of the most exciting bands I've ever heard.

Imagine you put on a CD by Rage Against the Machine and accidentally set the player on fast-forward. That is just sort of what Melt-Banana sounds like. They are called noise rock, noisecore, or simply noise. But really, they are a hardcore band incorporating noise and, on this album, traces of techno, hip-hop, and even trance music. And yes, they will draw disses from your buddies that they're a punk band fronted by Yoko Ono on crack. But who cares what they say?

I say don't listen to Yasuko O's vocals as a melodic instrument, but as a percussion instrument. Once I figured out how she fits into the sound, and accepted that her approach is more rap than punk, the more I knew her style is a vital part of Melt-Banana's rhythm. And now I couldn't imagine it any other way.

Truly, the mad scientist of Melt-Banana is Ichiro Agata. He's one of the most original guitar players I can think of, drawing apt comparisons to Tom Morello. Agata can rage full-on, and often does, then he spins up piercing waves of noise. He can also chill out and get subtle, while mixing styles interchangeably, enticing you to think he's "DJ Agata." This guy is a genius of guitar noise, and a really overlooked alt-rock player.

I think bassist Rika Mm' is probably the core of the Melt-Banana sound (the way John Entwistle was with The Who, if you'll allow the analogy). The insane, manic drumming (uncredited here -- apparently MB have chased a few drummers away of late) seems to key off of the bass rather than the other way around.

Melt-Banana likes to operate at breakneck speed, changing gears as fast as an F1 car, using stop-start dynamics in ways that would leave a lot of expert practitioners slackjawed. And somehow, they are just as precise live as they are on record.

Their song craftsmanship has become more refined on CELL-SCAPE. On earlier albums, many of their tracks were furious bursts of less than a minute, hinged on a single idea or direction. What they do here is cram several ideas into cohesive three-minute structures, letting ideas develop further than before. The improved production quality also gives the band more layers of sound to surround the listener with. After demented tracks like "Shield for Your Eyes, a Beast in the Well on Your Hand" and "Like a White Bat in a Box, Dead Matters Go On," it will have you reevaluate those bands you used to think were really intense.

CELL-SCAPE may be the best stuff they've ever put out, and I think they are one of the best-kept secrets in alternative music. They are a great band, and I hope they get their due.

Cellscape is a leap into the future,a peek at what GOOD pop music could be.The album is sandwhiched between 2 short electronica soundscapes.Compared to past albums,Cellscape is not as abrasive or raw.In fact,it is a progression for the band,there is less cutup noisy experiments,each song here has it's own identity and is well thought out.I say ThrashPop in the title of my review because this album has definite elements of pop.It's like hardcore punk/thrash blindsided by catchy as hell melodies,but of course we aren't talking the MTV style pop/punk so popular these days.Singer Yasuko coud leave Agata's insane guitar scrambling(or tame it)and create a new wave pop sound if she wanted to.The album is recorded well,the guitars are streamlined and Yasuko's melodies are front and center.Yasuko actually does a bit of straight singing on here,in addition to yelping in what I think is her most high pitched style yet.Word is they used a drum machine this time around,but it's not that distracting.Of course the adage with Melt Banana is still true,none of their albums can capture how pulverizing and heavy they are in a live context.

In many ways, this CD is quite a departure from what came before. This is definitely Melt-Banana's most accessible CD, but I don't think that's a bad thing. The songs are longer, the intro and outro cuts are atmospheric, and the second-last cut is practically a real commercial song (I have to say that I don't care for it). But in between, it's still Melt-Banana. I like this CD a lot and I really wish Melt-Banana's current tour was passing through Denver because I am sure that others are correct when they say Melt-Banana must be seen live to be truly appreciated.

It's easily their best album. This album tones down the noise and introduces rhythm and melody. Not the barrage of sound and havoc that most would expect having heard their other efforts. Advanced rhythms and a less by the numbers structure to everything softens this up.

This really sets in by the time "Lost Parts..." kicks in and you reallize their genius in turning noise into something with order, turning the familiar into the unfamiliar and back again.

The best way to get into Melt Banana is through this album, and it's likely to stick as most people's favorites

You can even enjoy this album if you're not high :D

Melt-banana spice up the j-punk/noise scene that many bands, like the Boredoms, seem to be taking fashionably as the next step in japanese popular music. Cell-Scape shows Ichiro Agata's guitar gimmicks as proficcient as ever, and Yasuko, while not as energetic as in earlier releases, is at her prime.

Cell-Scape gives up on the initial cacophonic '30 second song' formula that characterized MB's earlier releases. The change, albeit arguably a positive one, has led to some interesting changes in Mb's music. The production sounds detached from the raw industrial rock of their earlier releases, and the music smears with somewhat predictable structures instead. Mind you, MB still makes some of the most amazingly fresh and innovative music in the rock business, but one can't help but wonder if insistency in their earlier tendencies would have paid off more notably in the long run.

But don't get me wrong, this is a complete masterpiece. Agata's guitar work, and compositional genius, is truly invigorating and should serve as an inspirational hedgestone for those thinking 'The Mars Volta' are pioneers of avant-garde rock. Track names are far too long to type, but highlights include tracks '2,3,6,7,8 and 9 (though this one is too generic for my tastes, I acknowledge its catchiness')

In all, a splendid effort that marks the aesthetical foresight of Asian music over its occidental peers.

I bought this CD after seeing them live on the "Geek Tour" opening for fellow weirdos, Fantomas. I was thinking the entire time "They could never match their live performance; not even close!", but I was definitely wrong. Obviously, nothing can top Melt-Banana's live performance. Even if you HATE their music, you have to be entertained by their live show. This is easily their most accessible/"radio-friendly" record so far. I am excited to hear some new material, that's for sure. And to the dude who called them "college rock"? Dude...I thought "college rock" was REM? You friggin' dummy.

I'm pretty surprised that some people don't think this is a masterpiece. And I'm pretty disgusted that some people think any garage band can play like this. Once again, Agata's doing amazing stuff throughout. His machine-like tightness is breathtaking as usual and his scratching is really beautiful here. His guitar loops over the horror movie screams on the "like a white bat in a box, dead matters go on" intro are just superb. I cannot think of a more creative way to use a guitar and a bunch of effects, his ideas always sound very refreshing and futuristic. Listen closely for the stereo panning of his scratching while the Yasuko sings 'first one was dead, next one was crap...' with the robot voice on that same song. Yasuko is sounding ok for me, she's not putting as much energy as, say in '130000 miles at light velocity'. Anyways she makes up for it by singing some very nice and cute melodies. "a hunter in the rain to cut the neck up..." has one of the catchiest melodies ever, and her accent never sounded cuter. "if it is the deep sea, i can see you there" has by far, in my opinion, the catchiest melody melt banana has ever recorded. It's almost corny to some extent, but in the good japanese way (the sentimental nature of the melody is being used as a device rather than being a sincere emotion), only to be appropriately spoiled by the headbanging middle and end sections. She's starting to exhibit some hip-hop singing influences as well (I think thats what she has been listening to lately), especially in "key is a fact that a cat brings". Agata backs up her hip-hoppy syncopations with a killer noisy electronic drone. Yeah some tracks are a bit catchier (poppier) than their earlier stuff, so what? I think this album is better appreciated with headphones, and good ones (same thing with agata's solo project). There are fascinating stereo nuances that reveal Agata's greatness more broadly. Rika's sounding great too. She has improved a lot from the really early albums. I think this a very cool album, it makes me want to tap my foot to the drum machine and not clench my teeth as much as earlier melt banana stuff do. It can be appreciated by more people too and I'm really hoping this is how mainstream will sound like in the future. I just wish there would be more variety on the endings instead of those hits they love so much... but that's Agata I reckon.

Complex, amazing musically, vocally, lyrically.
Incredible.
Only complaint is that theres only 8 real vocal tracks, number 10 is just a really long filler song.
The band has definetley matured, for the better. I hope for many more albums.

Several years ago, I was watching a bizarre stoner cartoon on Adult Swim called "Perfect Hair Forever". One episode had this completely insane Japanese punk rock song that I heard and instantly thought "I am so buying that". I committed the oddly random word combination Melt Banana to memory and moved on with my life. A few years later, one Mike Patton dropped the name in an interview as one of his current favorite bands. I slapped myself on the forehead for having forgotten and after watching a few Youtube clips, I settled on this album. Yeah, I was pretty much planning on buying everything they've ever done by the end of of the second song. The last time I felt that way about a punk band was the first time I put Bad Brains' Rock for Light in my CD player. When was the last time you heard a band in this genre of music do ANYTHING fresh or new or exciting? Well, for the first time in a very long time, I'm actually excited by punk's present and get to look forward instead of backwards. It's a great feeling.

So you think Black Flag was aggressive? Dillinger Escape Plan is chaotic? Sonic Youth were cacophonously beautiful? Think The Mars Volta are out there and Tom Morello is an innovator? Well that may all be true, but Melt Banana is all of those things at once. And then some. "Cell Scape" begins with a spacey intro track, but as soon as the bass kicked in on "Shield for your eyes, a Beast in the well on your hand", I was thrilled, mesmerized, and utterly hooked. And yes, all of the song titles are as bizarre as that one. So are the lyrics if you can understand any of them. "A Hunter in the rain to cut the neck up in the present shape" has got to take the prize for best song title ever. Viva Nippon!

Ichiro Agata is the most exciting guitar player I've heard in ages. The man plays with true passion, fury, and skill and uses effects in ways that boggle the mind and thrill the ears. Vocalist Yasuko Onuki is one of the more...mmmm, I'm going to go with "unique" vocalists in music today. I've heard her somewhat aptly described on this very page as "Yoko Ono on crack" but I don't think that captures the truly unhinged nature of her "singing". With he up front, Melt Banana come off as an insane punk rock band from the future being fronted by a children's cartoon character. The effect is irresistably kooky. Rika's skillful bassplaying is what holds the band's chaotic sound together, period. Melt Banana go through drummers like Spinal Tap and it is still known only to them and thier producers just who contributed the frantic beats on this record. It's largely believed to be a drum machine, but listening to the energy and improvisational style of the album it's hard to believe that there was no live drummer involved. My theory is it was a mix of both.

One thing that is required to enjoy this album in an open mind. Your average listener will not even recognize this as music. The speed, unhinged vocals, creative use of effects, rhythm and tempo changes, and general craziness are likely to turn off anybody who is not very experienced with extreme musical styles. Mike Patton fanatics will feel right at home, however. While Onuki's vocals are typically pipsqueakish shouts and barks, she does manage a few moments of inspired melody on this album, which meld together with the band's talent for rhythm into some very memorable songs. But more often then not, "Cell Scape" is an album you just let wash over you with it's sweet insanity of sound.

I have only on complaint about is that the CD's only half an hour long. Sure, it's technically closer to 40 minutes, but the outro track is 10 straight minutes of ambient noise. God, do I hate it when bands do this. I understand that music like this becomes exhausting when an album is over an hour, but I don't appreciate the padding either. But for the first 30, this is all killer and no filler. Tokyo's noisecore maniacs are a band I very much look forward to hearing more of. No more posers like Rise Against on MTV shouting pseudo-revolutionary slogans with no passion while playing limp copies of copies of songs from a musical style that has long lost it's fire on this side of the Pacific. Japan may have taken a while, but their rock scene has long since surpassed us and continues to innovate and build upon the past while most American bands are only concerned with becoming celebrities. Melt Banana are bearing the banner of punk rock saviors for me right now and I can't wait to hear more.

Studio quality is MUCH better, and they seem more structured about being chaotic! Really nice hooks, I also think it has a super high re-playablitly rating. I love this album. I think it's fantastic. It's so plaful sounding, yet they throw "one two" beats all over the place. You mat really enjoy the singer's voice, really cute sounding, like if it's a pokemon character, guitar does some amazing effects, (try to think SIMILAR to r.a.t.m.) and the bass lines are GREAT. i really enjoy them. drums aren't super technical, but it's not simple beats either... hope this helps!