Q RULES: Quruli

Quruli.

Eh?

Kururi?

Hm?

Kuh-rully?

Uh...?

K--Fuck me! Just listen I'm in love with them!!!

Ok.

Takashi (my bartender) hated World is Mine when I played it for him. Said it was boring. What did HE know anyway, the old fogey! All he ever listened to was Nico and Elephant Kashimashi. Admittedly my favorite track, Amadeus is so understated and slow-moving that it can strain to leave an impression. I love it for the strings (of course), the haunting ambience, and Shigeru's solemn delivery. When it begins, I expect Sondheim. Instead, I get Kishida Shigeru engaged in moody nonsensical conversation with a dead composer.

Amadeus kimi wa doushite sonna ni takaraka ni utaeru no?
Amadeus boku wa doushite konna ni mune ga kurushii no?
Amadeus why must you sing so loudly?
Amadeus why does my chest hurt like this?

Chills, yes. Plenty.

World is Mine is a dark album. It is also best experienced alone. This is not one for the speakers, m'friends. It neither shakes, rattles, nor rolls.

Even the album's crowd pleaser World's End Supernova sounds lifeless at first for a groovy dance track. Sure, you'll dance to it but you'll be dancing solo. If you're me, you'll ride the subway and stare at the tunnel lights.

The album does venture into familiar rock territory with Go Back to China. Cue gong. Boys and Girls gets plaintive and strummy in a ballad tailored for Shigeru's voice . Army layers on so many studio effects that the vocals almost get overwhelmed. Nevertheless, it's an hypnotic listen. Come to think of it, something about it is vaguely reminiscent of Playground Love. The weakest track, Mind the Gap, is a quirky instrumental with a bagpipe-laden intro. Eh, it'll give at least one other person on this blog heavy Main Street Electrical Parade vibes.

Remember when I said I hated the sound of Japanese men singing?

That is most of the time.

Quruli hails from Kyoto located in Western Japan (Kansai) and although many Japanese will tell you that people from Kansai have a coarse dialect, they'll take it all back if you mention Kyoto. Kyotoites speak with a distinctively softer refined edge. Like the comparison between American and British diction. Maybe that is why I will gravitate to any song Shigeru sings simply because he sings so gosh durn pretty. I've enjoyed Radiohead for similar reasons.

Quruli recently joined with Cocco to form a band with the stupidest name ever. Stupider, possibly, than Bump of Chicken.

Singer Songer.

Singer Songer's first single is still sitting in its plastic wrapping on my desk. I just can't bring myself to listen to it. There's too much expectation and I am a wuss. I love Cocco and Quruli too much to hear them bomb in a union. I know, I know. I bought it. I should just swallow the pill. It might even be good for me? At worst, it'll just give me hives.

If thou seekst Quruli online, use the katakana spelling "Kururi". Apparently, there's no such thing as the letter Q in Japan.

More songs to Seek:

Bara no Hana/Ai Naki Sekai/Tokyo/Wandervogel/Aoi Namida/Rumblefish