Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Moshi Moshi Harajuku Review
Posted by Wyatt E. on 08.24.2011
Wyatt E. reviews an adorable Jpop record. You know that little voice in your head that says "they're all gonna laugh at you?" Mine requires a megaphone right about now.
Here's four Youtube videos I distracted myself with during brief moments of ADHD while writing this:
This review is really just getting in the way of my Freakazoid marathon.
It's Monday, August 1st. I just rolled out of bed and grabbed myself a bowl of Rice Krispies that I only bought because I need two serial numbers to get that vintage Kelloggs t-shirt I wanted (it's the one with Cornelius, the giant rooster that was the former mascot for Corn Flakes; besides, I'm still just immature enough to think that having a gigantic cock on my chest is the funniest thing in the history of everything). So I'm eating, and I'm scanning my Facebook page, checking to see who's whining about what - job, kids, attention, cleaning houses, husbands, still drunk from last night, attention, accidentally swallowed Bactine - you know, the standard. Then I come across this Youtube video someone posted, with the caption "All sorts of wtfery, but I love it." That's when my life changed forever. Okay, that's a bit grandiose. It'd be more accurate to say that for the next several days, my Brain Radio got a little more cheerful.
.....did she fart patterns at one point?
So yeah, that whole video was awesome/batshit, and well deserving of the two million hits plus that it's already gotten as of this writing, but I have to admit - I really love the song itself. When you have pop music that's as unpretentiously giddy and vibrant as this, well, I'm usually pretty game for it, so I pre-ordered Moshi Moshi Harajuku (Hello, Harajuku) on iTunes pretty quick. Granted, I barely speak a word of Japanese, but then, I'm lucky to speak two sentences of German, and I love Rammstein, so whatever. So who is Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, anyway?
Kyary Pamyu Pamyu, also simply known as Kyary, was also a fashion model (SIT BACK DOWN) for harajuku magazines, and was also a fashion blogger who gained quite a following. She even dipped her toe into starting her own business, releasing her own line of fake eyelashes (I bought ten of them!). She rose to prominence quickly, but wanting to establish herself beyond fashion, she started as a dance-pop vocalist in early 2011. Not that she's the greatest singer on earth, but hell, that never stopped Ke$ha, did it? But more on that later. (I was kidding about the eyelashes.)
To explain what harajuku culture is to those who are unfamiliar with it would be another column in itself, especially since the most you guys have probably heard of it would be from back when Gwen Stefani was going off the deep end a bit (a lot) and had those four Japanese girls following her everywhere. What's important is what's here, and the credit to this album's appeal (and apparently Kyary, to her credit, would be the first to tell you) belongs to one Yasutaka Nakata, from the pop band Capsule. If you don't know Capsule, well, they're a long running dance pop duo who have had a long string of successful albums in Japan, which have gotten increasingly more "house" in nature.
Now, for those of you who are jaded by pop radio at this point (yeah, I have a job like that too), I know what you're thinking, and no, Moshi Moshi Harajuku isn't really a straight house record. This is dance-pop - there's a small difference. To his credit, Yasutaka Nakata has assembled an EP (I never got into saying "mini-album." That's too cute even for me) that's absolutely rich with thumping dance beats and the most irresistible of basslines (seriously, you'd swear Daft Punk had a hand in there somewhere). This is well-made dance pop, done by a veteran who's well and truly capable of some sugary, infectious delights when given the opportunity. These songs have hooks, and the beat rarely lets up through the entire running time. Maybe the album is a bit too sugary - everything is so bright and shiny that it borders on Owl City on meth amphetamines. Which is an interesting thought in and of itself.
Then there's the fashion model herself. Dance-pop has had a long history of emphasizing the personality over the vocals itself, and Kyary is no exception - her vocals are exactly as girlish and cutesy as she looks. Here's where the enthusiasm comes in (oh shit look out for the soapbox LOOK OUT FOR THE SOAPBOX). Look, I'm not gonna crap all over you just because you can't hit notes like Kelly Clarkson or dance like Shakira (the future Mrs. E, thank you very much). The truth is, the important thing in this kind of music is simply giving a shit. I've had people ask me why I relentlessly supported the Spice Girls and dislike Britney Spears. Say what you will about the Spice Girls but putting aside stupid gimmicks, those were five women that really loved making pop music, and even when they sang a dumb song about Pepsi, it was obvious they really loved what they were doing even if they didn't play instruments or hit high notes except Mel C that one time which was pretty awesome. Enthusiasm, or at least a certain level of care, is a big thing in making this kind of music seem vital, fun and infectious. (whew. Sorry about that.)
Kyary's tactic of handling pop music is to not force anything (and she admitted she did in initial recording sessions), and she simply sings a few cheerful pop songs about nostalgia ("Cherrybonbon"), dancing, and togetherness ("PONPONPON" of course) like recording this album was a pretty neat way to spend a typical Saturday night. The result is that she enhances the weird, sparkly vibe, and even embodies it in her own way. Which, I suppose, is a polite way of saying she doesn't have a great voice, but she's a good fit for the music.
The 411: Hey, given that she's a model-turned-fashion-blogger-turned-pop singer, this could have been a lot worse. Its short running time, combined with Kyary's and Yasutaka Nakata's unwillingness to ever make this any more than what it really is, adds up to a breezy, fun listen, even if you don't speak the language (or, if you regularly Youtube search for weird Japanese videos, especially so). Really, solid production is universal, and Moshi Moshi Harajuku is a perfectly acceptable 27 minutes of goofy dance music. Simple as that.
