(Japanese text by Tomo, translated into English by Maggie)
Supercar are probably the closest you'll ever get to a Japanese shoegazer band. They hail from Aomori, a place in the countryside in northern Japan that is usually considered their version of "the boonies." When they first started out, they were a guitar band that seemed happy to just layer their ringing guitar sounds with beautiful melodies. But with their 2nd album Jump Up, their sound suddenly evolved (and this was evolution, not change), going from Britpop copy band to developing their own sound identity.
The product of this was their 3rd album, the 2000 release Futurama. They got the title from a combination of the words "future" and "panorama," and sure enough, it was a record that seemed to depict the future and an all-encompassing view of sound itself. At the time, their use of both rock and electronica drew comparisons to Primal Scream and Radiohead.
Usually, it's very difficult to put Japanese lyrics to UK guitar band-type music as it comes off sounding very unbalanced (perhaps that explains the dearth of such bands in Japan), but Supercar skillfully maneuver around that, and the music and lyrics are written by different members of the band. Another feature of the band is the use of boy/girl harmonies, but on this album, the female vocals tend to take a backseat.In the beginning, the guitars jangle in the instrumental "Changes," and lead into the deeper guitar sound of the masterpiece "Playstar Vista." Despite its futuristic feel (perhaps aided by the synths), this is an album that leaves you feeling mysteriously warm. The first half of the album is so solid that when you get around to the latter half, it sometimes seems like the album is a little too long. But, there are still some gems like "Fairway" and "Restarter" tucked away.
Post-Futurama, Supercar continued to evolve, stretching out into the far reaches of the electronica universe with the release of their 4th album, High Vision. After that, they once again changed direction and headed back to Earth with a more conventional, Talking Heads-esque 5th album Answer, and then they broke up.
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ORIGINAL TEXT:
しかし2nd『Jump Up』になるといきなりその音は進化（変化ではなく進化です）の速度を時速150kmくらいに上げ、いかにもＵＫ好きってだけではなく、自分たちの音処理のスタイルがまるっきり変わりました。 ところがその音の進化はまったく止まることが無く、速度維持しながらも真っ直ぐだけではなく縦にも横にも向い始めました。
それが結晶されたのが2000年に発売された3rdアルバムの『Futurama』です。 タイトルはFutureとPanoramaを合わせた言葉らしく、まさにその言葉通りの音の未来と音のすべての景色をあらわしている傑作アルバムです。 発売当初はロックとエレクトロニカとの融合ってことでPrimal ScreamやRadioheadを引き合いに出して評価されておりました。
通常英国的なメロディとアレンジがあると、そこに日本語の歌詞を乗せるのは非常にアンバランスで難しいのですが（だから日本にはそういうバンドが少ないのかも）スーパーカーはその辺がとても巧みで楽曲と詩は別々のメンバーが書いています。 それともうひとつの特徴はヴォーカルが男女ひとりずついるということであり、このアルバムは男性ヴォーカルの割合が非常に高く、女の子の声は控えめに後ろから、または横からとても可愛げに顔を出してくれています。
さて、その後のスーパーカーはさらに進化をし続けて、エレクトロニカの星にたどり着いた4th『High Vision』を経たのち、その進化を 無理やりに止めて地上に戻ってきてTalking Headsのような原始化した5th『Answer』のアルバムを残して解散してしまいました。
１枚とも同じアルバムが無く、好みは分かれるとは思いますが、自分は最も動き続けていたこの『Futurama』が一番好きです。
Maggie | my♥posts | [email protected]
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