Got Ketchup...Mania???

My stupid little boycott is over.

A couple of months ago there was a bit of a debate between the folks at japanfiles.com and LiveJournal over illegal file sharing on that blog site.  I threw in my two cents with this post sparking a small debate between Japanfiles and I, which you can read in that posts' comments.  It wasn't that I disagreed with them, it was just that I thought their argument was overly defensive and possibly alienating to their biggest supporters.  Ultimately I temporarily stopped listening to their web radio program at live365.com.

But I am over that now.  I have always liked what Japanfiles is doing.  All they are really guilty of is trying to expose Japanese rock music to the western fans, and helping their groups be a success.  So we are all on the same team and should be supporting one another and the music we mutually love.  I am happy to say I am back to listening to "Ketchup Mania Mondays", and as a result have picked up two new purchases...

Ketchup mania ~ L.O.V.E. (2007)

L.O.V.E was Ketchup Mania's third full length album, and was released August of last year.  While it isn't my favorite of their cd's, it does mark as sort of graduation from club band to professional rock group.  There is noticeable difference between this release and their previous effort, U.R.G.E.  The production values and packaging have been upgraded, and quite a few tracks have a "radio friendly" feel to them.  This trend has continued on their newest release, FLAG.  But whatever the trend, they continue to be an "in your face" hard rock band with an incredible lead singer!  Here is a sampling of my favorite tracks...

Track 2: Sunshine Girl ~  This is one of two songs with English lyrics on the CD.  And you can hear Lead Guitarist Dai's influence on the lyrics.  As it sounds like a guy talking to his girlfriend.  But the greatest thing is the echo effect put on Hiro's voice!  The rhythm of the song has a ska beat which was a lot more prominent on their indie releases.

**the two songs I usually skip on the CD is the first track BASTARDS! and the fourth track LIFE SIZE, which ironically is the CD's major single!  And it isn't that the first track is a bad song, it's just that Hiro isn't singing on it, which is the main appeal of this group to me**

Track 5: L.O.V.E. ~ This is my favorite track on the disc.  I love the little bells ringing in the background, and Wani's drumming is amazing.  It is a kick-ass, fast paced rock song.  And the clarity of Hiro's vocals are a great example of why she is so great.  She has such a pretty voice, and seems so shy and "normal" off stage.  Which is precisely what she was like standing outside The Independent in San Francisco.  But it also could have been that she was standing among a bunch of English speaking people.  But when she gets on stage, she is all business!

Track 7: MY manual ~  Another headbanger!  It was after hearing this on Live365 that I finally decided to buy this disc.  And the same can be said for Track 9, Hime no Omoi which is a great example of the contrast of Ketchup's frenetic pace and Hiro's angelic vocals.  LUCKY STAR is a very pretty and melodic song to end the CD.

Keep in mind when I am critical of a Ketchup Mania song, it is a comparative criticism.  I think just about everything they have done has been great.  More than H!P, more than AKB48, Ketchup Mania has been the most played artist on my CD player since the day I discovered them.  Greetings From Tokyo is still my favorite of all of their releases.  But this "more mature" version of KM is a solid purchase as well.  If you like this group, you will certainly like this CD.  As for my second purchase...

 Ketchup Mania ~ Everytime Music Freak (2003)

I just happened to come across one of KM's early mini-albums available cheap on EBay, so I snatched it up as quickly as I could.  And I love every song on it!  I know this is starting to sound like a big, boring lovefest.  But I am just so enamored with this group.  Their punk/ska roots are a lot more prevalent here.  And the English lyrics (on about half of the songs) are a laugh riot!  Their English is much improved on more recent releases, so somebody must be taking language lessons.  Oops that reminds me, where is my Rosetta Stone software?  I don't have any sample tracks for you, but if you've listened to the above links (or read any of my previous KM reviews) you get the basic idea.  I hope they are touring Japan when I make my next visit in October/November.  I would love to see them on their home turf.  In the meantime I will keep plugging this group until you all jump on the bandwagon, so get used to it!

And I still think Hiro is hot!

CK in California 

Official Website http://ketchup-mania.com/