Source: Bounce.com
Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her singer Higurashi Aiha is set to release her first solo album on January 7, 2004. Titled Born Beautiful, the album is expected to contain 10 songs, including the pre-release singles “New Life” and “Fantasy”. A self-cover of “the end of shite”, which Higurashi wrote for ex-Judy and Mary singer Yuki, may also be included on the album. Higurashi will then go on tour for the album starting in February. For more information and tour dates, visit Higurashi’s official site.
Over the course of 10 years, Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her has produced a body of work ranging from youthfully amateur to brashly seasoned.
Although the group has toured internationally, only now has its music become available outside of Japan, thanks to UK label Arriverdeci Baby and its retrospective, Red Talk.
Like most career-spanning collections — especially one covering a decade — a bit of history has been rewritten.
Red Talk contains SSKHKH’s more accessible tracks, from the catchy but dischordant opener “Sentimental Journey” to the garage rock simplicity of “Pretty In Pink”.
Sure, some tracks demonstrate Higurashi Ahia’s more ambitious songwriting chops — the swing-to-swagger of “Pink Soda”, the freaked-out intro of “Grapefruit”, the three-part juggling act on “Mo’Mo’Gimi’Mo'”.
But for the most part, Red Talk showcases Higurashi as a hook writer more than as an intuitive rock composer. Some of the band’s more experimental leanings — most of It’s Brand New, for instance — are glossed over to create an easier listening experience.
Hey — whatever works, right?
Thankfully, Red Talk doesn’t attempt to revise the sonic evolution of the band. Seagull’s lo-fi beginnings are offered without any dressing, making later works stick out by virtue of their fidelity. It’s obvious “A Guitar for Me and Milk for Her” and “Asking for It” weren’t written in the same period.
Satisfying though Red Talk may be, the packaging leaves a hell of a lot to be desired. Alive/Total Energy saw fit to include at least a short essay on why Thee Michelle Gun Elephant deserved a label deal outside of Japan. Red Talk doesn’t even bother to list which albums each of the tracks come from.
Forget about the video for “Sister Sister” included as a CD-ROM extra — grainy encoding and shoddy sound quality don’t “enhance” a CD.
As far as retrospectives go, Red Talk does a decent job respresenting Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her in some respects — the songs on the album really are good — and not so in others.
Despite any missteps, Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her deserve this kind of attention outside of Japan. The music on Red Talk makes up for any shortcomings in presentation.
Seagull Screaming Kiss Her Kiss Her have come a long way since Higurashi Ahia decided to form a band nearly 10 years ago.
Even as recently as 1996’s It’s Brand New, the band indulged in the usual indie gestures that toe the line between amateur preciousness and mature sophistication — angular hooks, changing tempo, sparse arrangements giving way to bombastic outbursts.
By comparrison, SSKHKH’s latest album, Future or No Future sounds tame next to It’s Brand New, and while Higurashi may be writing more conventional songs nowadays, they’re far more crafted and much more mature than her earlier work.
(Check out SSKHKH’s 2000 album, No! No! No! It’s got a bit more punch than the polished sound of Future or No Future.)
Higurashi knows now she can write a hook and still sound like she’s pushing the envelope.
“Sentimental Journey” hammers away with a dischordant guitar hook, but its primitive forcefulness is far more effective than some of her dissonant solos on It’s Brand New.
The 46-second title track is a nice, concise workout that says more in its brevity than some of the three-minute songs on the album.
“Mo’Mo’Gimi’Mo'” alternates between a quiet half-time strumming, a head-banging riff and a bombastic bridge, but this time around, Higurashi has a better handle on juggling all three elements.
When Higurashi does opt to nail a hook, she does so marvelously.
“Think It Over” shows off a Harley-riding rock ‘n’ roll swagger. Simple eight-note riffs drive “Fuck It Up and Get Hurt” and “Mo’Mo’Gimi’Mo'”.
“Evolution” sports a bittersweet melody countered by a saccharine organ line, while “Lullaby” supplements its dramatic chorus with amplified strings.
Up until Future or No Future, Higurashi sang exclusively in heavily-accented English. This time around, she’s thrown in some of her native Japanese into a few verses. It’s a nice break.
Future or No Future is a satisfying album, full of mature songwriting and incredible performances.