Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
If you like Boards of Canada,, April 22, 2003
then you'll like Casino vs Japan. The overall feel is incredibly similar NOT in the sense that they sound anything a like because they don't; but in the sense that Casino vs Japan, like Boards of Canada, creates atmospheric textures with softly rolling drumbeats buried underneath the sonic washes of sound. Otherwordly, atmospheric and ambient. You'll find yourself being washed away on waves of warm synthesizers while childlike melodies whisper softly in your ear. The two minute goose bump inducing `moonlupe' is one of those tracks, short and dreamy. My personal favorite is `em essey', a chills-up-my-spine inducing track with a beautiful haunting melody and slow crunchy beats. `whole numbers play the basics' gets denser and more complicated with each consecutive track and grows on you the more you listen to it. It's one of those discs you can play if you're melancholy or ebullient, it suits every mood. A breath of fresh air in the often dark and dreary world of electronica.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fine Musical Journey, June 16, 2005
Several years ago I found this cd used and bought it based on some positive reviews I've read. Upon hearing this release the first thing I thought was how a person could be crazy (or broke) enough to have gotten rid of this true gem. Erik Kowalski (aka Casino Versus Japan) is one of the most truly underrated and overlooked wonders in the oversaturated genre of modern electronic music (much like his Carpark labelmate Marumari). This is not the kind of cold, glitchy, minimalist stuff that's big with a lot of chin-strokers, but instead instrumental music overflowing with shimmering color and life. Erik is a master of melody, which in my opinion is an element of music that can never be exhausted or outdated if done well. There is a strong emphasis on beats and rhythms here too, most of which have an almost monolithic lumbering quality to them, paced in a hip-hop style clad in industrial armor. That's not to say this is agressive or hostile music, if those genres bring that kind of thing to mind. This album has more in common with Boards of Canada (a common, if not overused comparison) than Skinny Puppy or Public Enemy. And I wouldn't be stretching it to say that CVJ's closest ancestors are bands like Slowdive, Kitchens of Distinction, Flying Saucer Attack, or My Bloody Valentine. In fact this is the album that MBV's Kevin Shields probably dreams of putting together. This is mainly due to the sublime and monumentally beautiful walls of manipulated guitar texture found throughout this, and all of CVJ's wonderful releases. Erik Kowalski's bio states that he was into collecting and building model trainsets prior to getting into music. I'm not surprised one bit and can clearly hear how his fascination with travel and motion and going to new places extends into his sonic endeavors. This is by no means pleasant or quaint background music for washing dishes to. In fact I'd rather place CVJ in a category more akin to foreground music that deserves attention. So when you wisely purchase this release and pop it in your player, prepere to travel through lush, green valeys, towering stacks of red mesas, and far beyond. All aboard!!!
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Essential!!!, December 19, 2002
There are very few albums out there I would dare drop the "Essential" moniker on, but this and the other Casino Versus Japan release I own ("Go Hawaii") are as squarely in that category as can be. With most electronica out there it seems really easy to find a cool song on an album (maybe one reason why so many compilations proliferate these days) but most albums in this genre seem to lack consistancy or the kind of attention to detail that Casino Versus Japan does; this alone makes them stand out. Emotional cinematic dreamscape music is the best way I can describe this work: richly textured, meticulous in it's simplicity and amazing in it's beauty. A perfect blend of harmony, melody, rhythm, texture, space, place. This album differs from "Go Hawaii" in it's more assertive melodies, whereas "Hawaii" is content to dwell more in harmonic seascapes. This album is a beautiful development in the sound; I reminded of early Meters: yeah a lot of the songs sound alike but the interest is gained from subtle variations on a single sound/idea, not on wide range of ideas. This is one reason the album stands up to well to repeated and detailed listenings. I have a hard time being coherent about this since it is truly amazing.
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