Heya
>Fishmans - Long Season
>Dub, Dream Pop
I had planned to write the most contrarian, banal, and facetious review for this album to tilt the thread, or at the minimum Fish. But the struggle in finding harsh words and flaws against this album wasn't worth the time and autism in nitpicking details and making jokes about Japanese falsettos.
The few lyrics that exist recall some distant purple-tinted dream. Shinji's delivery is excellent, and falls in an ambiguous, effeminate area, which is exactly the kind I like. The backing instrumentation is a constant and repetitive drive forward, empowering the vocals or solos to stand out (something about how Japan uses the accordion is extraordinary).
Musically, this is not complex aside from a wide assortment of instruments. The production is where it stands out, pulling each part of the band forward through an aquatic setting, and letting quietly them drift away when they're no longer needed.
Part 3 is where the album stumbles. The entire first half of Part 3 is meandering with its samples, to the point of sounding like it should have been cut out. It could have easily been replaced with a gradual transition into of the drumming that populates the latter half of Part 3.
The album is also rooted on a looping C7 piano chord. Glittery at first, but stagnant by the time Part 5 comes around, even more so after repeated listens. By repeated, I mean maybe 5 re-listens, attentive listening and not.
While the album ascertains its environment and atmosphere, I think it may be overrated in being the go-to summer getaway. This could have been a great EP as just the first two tracks.
and if you would excuse my memeing the Part 2/3 water sound really does sound like someone taking a shit, and reaching into the toilet to pull it out because they disagree with the idea of excretion
7/10, not expecting to revisit
