Nagisa Ni Te - The True Sun
(P-Vine)
Nagisa Ni Te's second CD is a live recording of their delicate pop style, with the recording as simple as the songs are. The band focuses primarily around the acoustic guitar and voice of Shinji Shibayama, with the tambourine and voice of Masaka Takeda and very simple percussion from Ikuro Takahashi; the songs are extremely soft, rather twee in their execution.
The opening instrumental, "On the Beach," is merely a moaning, wordless sung melody over the quiet acoustic strum that fills the entire album. It sets a nice tone for the album. The epic track "Morning Glory - River" begins with a long, slow melody repeatedly sung by Shinji and Masako's male/female vocals, the vocals becoming rather mantra-like (and especially since I don't know Japanese). The "River" section of the songs is one of the most aggressive points of the disc, with a fast strum over some crazed hand drums.
The pace of this album remains slow and drugged out, and it's rather nice for creating a mood; it really feels like you are on a beach in Japan, maybe sitting around a campfire roasting s'mores. The sleepy peace is never really broken, even on the other epic, the 12-minute "Mysterium Coniunctionis" that closes the disc. Thought it takes a few minutes to get going, the harmonica driven tune reminds me of another creator of "On the Beach," Neil Young, though bouncier. The end of the song (and album) combines the fast percussion with harmonica, whistling, and the guitar to create an almost Krautrock-like bit of repetition. It's dramatic but not overly so.
This album relaxes me in a more subtle way than something like Belle and Sebastian or the Field Mice; I'd like to hear how their studio records sound in comparison, but the hefty import price tag will prevent me. This isn't recommended as a starting point for Nagisa Ni Te, yet for those who like sparse arrangements it's a delight.
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