Albums I Adore (and Why You Should Too!) : Merrie Land

Damon Albarn is in love with England. England is a place that's been on this man's mind in one way or another since he started working on music. Of course, there was his work with Blur, and how he turned his group from capitalizing on the dying British music trend that was Madchester into being the leaders of an entirely new movement with Britpop. Much of his work during the early and mid 90's was the epitome of Britishness, with shoutouts to the Portobello Road Market or Primrose Hill. Above all else, Modern Life is Rubbish and Parklife were painting a vivid, colorful vision of London, one where despite its problems, living there wasn't so bad. With time, however, Damon's music had started to drift away from Britain in a sense. Later Blur records were much more influenced by American rock than British music and in particular British culture. This went doubly so for Gorillaz. While that group has had its share of British guests, many of them had come from all over the globe, from America to Syria. Even Damon himself had considered Gorillaz more of an American band, with how much more the concept and music had resonated with global audiences than with ones back home in England. With Gorillaz and other projects like Africa Express, Albarn had been looking internationally. One group of his, however, had Damon going back to his roots in a way.

2006 brought with it the rise of The Good, the Bad and the Queen. Damon Albarn brought with him drummer Tony Allen, guitarist Simon Tong and bassist Paul Simonon for a 12-song cycle taking a melancholy look at a post-Iraq War London released at the start of 2007. The quartet went toured throughout 2007, with the odd show in 2008 and 2011. These shows wouldn't be the last time that some of their members teamed up either. Damon roped in Paul and Simon to work on the next Gorillaz album, Plastic Beach, with Paul also acting as bassist for the expansive world tour supporting the record and Simon subbing in for Jeff Wootton on guitar for a few dates. Damon and Tony had also launched another group that was called Rocket Juice and the Moon after the cover art for the album they made together (not unlike how The Good, the Bad and the Queen got their name.) Damon guested on the track Go Back on Tony's 2014 album and Tony in return showed up on Damon's solo tour that same year. Nothing seemed to materialize of any new material from the unnamed supergroup, however. This changed when in 2017 Damon let it slip about the band coming back together again for the release of a second album. Damon certainly seemed excited to tour the record and touted it as "the greatest thing... [he] ever made..." I was certainly hyped with this announcement. I adored this group's debut outing, as one could probably tell from the post I made reviewing the first record. It's still the best album I've ever listened to! My only concern going into the release was about the production. Danger Mouse left a huge mark on the first album, and with that became one of my favorite parts of it. When Damon announced that it was Tony Visconti stepping into the producer role this time, I was very intrigued in how this would affect the album's sound and direction. If you couldn't tell from the title of this post, this decision still turned out to be a great one. 11 years on from the first record, this band is back in action and as great as they have ever been, rebounding like they never even split apart and ready to tackle Britain post-Brexit referendum.

1. Introduction -  "I see what we do as The Good, the Bad and the Queen as cinematic," according to Paul Simonon in an interview. It makes total sense with that in mind to start off this record with a movie clip from an adaptation of The Canterbury Tales, but this intro also has another purpose. It makes the album feel like a journey, one that travels throughout British history and a more personal journey sorting out a person's emotions at a changing country. This works as the perfect mood-setter for our trip through Merrie Land.

2. Merrie Land - This title track was also the album's lead single and from the first listen I was floored with what I heard. The first thing that I took away from this song was just how dense it was, both in meanings and in the way Damon had sung his lyrics. There is lots of powerful symbolism and imagery here, like "the horses, the foxes, the sheep and the cows, bow down on their knees. To the fanfare of progress it's always the same, we cheer on the clowns as they roll into town and their faces look tired and sad to me..." It's so beautiful and striking but I think what makes lyrics like these work, not just on this track but on the rest of the record, is how they're delivered. Damon Albarn tries out something a little different with his vocals on this record where it's much more stream-of-conciousness, almost like spoken word at times (which we'll really get to hear towards the end of the record.) It was a style he picked up from Lou Reed after meeting up with him to record for Plastic Beach. Just this change really helps make this album stand out from not just this band's first record but anything else Damon has recorded yet. It's a style I really wouldn't mind hearing again (maybe on a new Gorillaz album?) The song gets strung together by a really nice lowrey organ performance by Damon that makes this track move along nicely. I adore the instrumental break where Demon Strings comes further into the mix, it's one of the most powerful moments on the record and brings chills down my spine every time I hear it (this feeling will be pretty common throughout the record.) You know, it really says something when a song this incredible is still somehow one of the lesser cuts from this album.

3. Gun to the Head - Of the three songs that have a recorder on the record, this track utilizes it the best. The recorders at the beginning feel like they're starting up some ancient royal ritual (like a ritual union?) This is also the first track where this record begins to take a turn for the weird. Here, nightingales plead to keep their homes and unicorn heads are but one of the landmarks. Merrie Land at points begins to feel less and less real and more like some bizarre fever dream powered by illusions of what life used to be, like it ever was that at all. This song also harkens back to a Damon style of old, with the music-hall influences of early Blur records back in full force alongside a chorus that feels like the shotgun marriage of a Parklife track with the future Britain faces now. "We don't care, cause we're all, animal lovers! We like to share our lives with them!" That first part sounds straight out of the 90's until you reach "when everything else that keeps us together conspiring to tear us apart" and you feel like you were ripped out of the colorful image of Blur's London, the Merrie Land as it were, and given a nice dose of reality. That hook really makes this song infectious!

4. Nineteen Seventeen - One of the things I love about this album is that Tony Allen gets some more to do on this record. He doesn't get shafted for a drum machine like he was at times on the first album and makes his presence known on every track (except for Ribbons.) My favorite drumming of his is on this track, especially during the impressive intro and gets the track really bouncing! "I see myself looking backwards in time today..." It feels like a lot of this record is moving in and out through different times in history at a dizzying pace. If the last song brought us back to the time of vaudeville theater, it feels perfect to slot this song in right after, themed after a time where vaudeville was at its heights. 1917 also was near the end of the first world war, when the U.S. had waged war on Austria-Hungary. Damon uses some pretty powerful imagery to invoke that time as well, noticing "a thousand white crosses in a cemetery." This whole track feels like I'm on a flying swing at an old carnival, trying not to look down on the chaos and destruction of war.  The outro is really awesome too. There aren't as many long outro jams like there were on the first album, but when they show up they are grand. Those sounds of what seem like bombs falling are seriously perfect for the song's subject matter.

5. The Great Fire - If you love the weird, creepy vibes that the early Gorillaz phases gave off, you'll love this one. It's spooky and haunted, being the most atmospheric song on the album. It's like a haunted Halloween tram ride through England passing by the violence of a people torn apart from each other. The dubby beat and synths help to paint this dark picture. My favorite part is when the synths and drums kick in by the way, on the "rapturous waves" part. All the spooky background vocals really fit too, like you can feel ghosts swarming all around you even if you can't quite see them, making them all the more terrifying.  Lyrically, it's not as tight as the other songs on here, but I love them for what they are. The narrative they create is one less straightforward than on other tracks, where it feels more akin to the almost nonsense lyricism of quite a few Gorillaz tracks while still being intense. "Sticky brown Chinese, coke and a dummy, metal detector, blue skies, joyous waves, alcoholism disguised with a balloon or two on Preston station!" This one could also be seen as another travel through time, moving backwards from World War I into the Great Fire of London back in 1666, explaining the "Cubs make fire on the edge of the golf course" line.

6. Lady Boston -  "[There was] this beautiful sound filling all the hallways and the Gothic stairways and the nooks and crannies of the castle." That quote was from Damon Albarn, on the recording of Lady Boston with the song's choir. I could just cut off my discussion about this song here, because it's too perfectly said and resonates so closely to what I feel listening to the track. A bit of backstory might help before diving in too deep. During the recording of Merrie Land, Damon rung up an old friend of his, Gruff Rhys (whose debut album I have talked about before,) and it was Rhys who hooked Damon up with the Cor y Penrhyn male choir featured in this song. It was recorded in the Penrhyn Castle in Wales, and Damon saw a painting on the walls and named the song after finding a person in that painting that seemed somewhat different from the rest, only having the name Lady Boston to go off of. The song became the amalgamation of all of Damon's thoughts around that time, thinking about the painting and the castle and its history of Welsh quarrymen and being built off of Jamaican slave plantations. What resulted from this is what's by far the best song on the album. It feels like the next natural evolution of the Blur ballads of old, like I'm flashing back to "Best Days" or "Out of Time" in this journey through British history. "Cut to the seagull, the quarryman, the castle, the barnacles, the cliff edge, the joy." Such a perfect and creative use of imagery. Tony Visconti's recorder sounds really nice on here too, a bit unexpected when I first heard it but it's so welcome. Speaking of parts I adore, the "I'm on the back of you" refrain is so marvelous, and gives way to what is not just the best part of the song but the best part of the album and one of the musical highlights of Damon's entire career, the outro. Throughout the song, there's this gorgeous Cor y Penrhyn choir behind Damon. That alone sounds great as is, but in the outro the band cuts off entirely and keeps the choir on, singing "Dwy wrth dy gefen, dwi wth dy gefen di." That translates to "I'm on your back, I feel sorry for you." That final moment is simply magical. A true moment of togetherness in these troubled times. Is this Damon Albarn's best ballad? I would say so.

7. Drifters and Trawlers -"I've done enough today, sweet lord I've done enough today." I thought on first listen that this was supposed to be the lighthearted track working as a bit of relief after the big centerpiece of the record and a fun way to start off side B. It sounds very breezy, with rollicking guitars and what could seriously be one of my favorite parts of the album, the impressive penny whistle playing from Gerry Diver. It's like I'm on this old shipping boat sailing on by towards Plastic Beach while the seagulls swarm around me. It seems to have the makings of a great summer jam, but the lyrics are certainly a different matter. While they are very catchy, there's an overwhelming sadness to them driven home by Damon's tired vocals.

8. The Truce of Twilight - This song is Merrie Land at its most mystical. Lions and unicorns sleeping by shop doors! It's a story of fortune tellers and idols and waterslides! I especially like the horned ooser symbolism thrown in there too. Not only does this add to the tracks dark mysticism, but it also helps complete the narrative the song tries to weave. The horned ooser refers to the Dorset Ooser of 19th century English folklore, a wooden head that became associated with morality and humiliating those who acted immoral into behaving a certain way. The ooser could be the symbol for the fear that people have for going against the ways of old and looking dead eyed at the future in the process, like in the lines "glassy eyed demography" and "they're not dreaming just looking to midnight." The glassy eyed demography line also speaks to the divide between the so-called "Merrie Land" and facing reality, as if people have been too busy at this carnival taking in old British culture and thinking of how good it could be to go back to the ways of old (that may not have existed at all in the ways that they are thinking about them) instead of seeing what's really going on in the UK right now and trying to start up a conversation about it.

9. Ribbons - Listening to Ribbons, my mind drifts back in time to the beautiful A Soldier's Tale or the sadly overlooked Everyday Robots B-side Electric Fences. This songs channels all the best aspects of Damon's softer tracks. It's soothing with powerful vocals, the best Demon Strings performance on the album and some of the best lyricism I've ever heard from one of his projects. I can't even say I have a favorite line from this, there's so many to choose from. "I am the maypole, dancing with the sun," "I am the arrow stinging in your side. I will never let you go," it's all so rich with imagery and emotion! If I had to choose one, I would choose "I am the murder, falling out the sky. I wear my ribbons black until I die." The vocals on that part are the best on the album, fitting for such a powerful lyric.

10. Last Man to Leave - Everything has gone to shit. I know that this idea has been used plenty a time throughout Damon's discography, from the apocalyptic Demon Days to the emotional nightmares stored throughout 13, but few songs in his repertoire convey this kind of doom as bluntly as this. This song is in the eyes of a man who's gone insane, swinging in and out of consciousness struggling to hold on and pleading for dear life. Everything sounds disoriented, from Damon switching between a falsetto and a normal speak-singing voice to the powerful lyrics. My favorite little detail is the guitar plucking from Simon when Damon pleads "DON'T LEAVE ME NOW!" It's the coolest guitar work on the album for how it contributes to these drunken sounding cries to make this sound like a stage play that's falling apart at the seams, just like the country Damon loves.  I especially love "We like the bed that we made to lie in much better, thank you!" I saw this as the people of The Truce of Twilight responding to pleas for conversation and understanding before splitting apart from the European Union, refusing to leave Merrie Land and connect with others. "What will you do?" Damon asks as the curtains close and the scene fades to black. But as everything seems like it's falling to pieces, could there be a light at the end of the tunnel, a hope for a brighter future for Britain even with the stroppy little island of mixed up people being split apart?

11. The Poison Tree - Maybe not. "I didn’t want to include The Poison Tree on the album. I wanted to end it with a very punk song. But we realized that The Poison Tree was taking us by surprise, it sounds like a last waltz: everybody goes home and wakes up the next morning screaming “What have I done?” Had things gone to Damon's original plan, I don't think I would have minded having a punk song to close things off. Having a powerful, uplifting happy ending like the first record or like on Humanz could have been pulled off well. But in an album with quite a few surprises under its belt, this kind of an ending is a welcome one. That's not to say that Albarn hasn't ended albums on more sorrowful terms before, the last two Blur records come to mind here. It just came as a bit of a shock for me to close things off for what could be Damon's last record for quite a while on such a tattered mournful note as opposed to the outlooks taken by the endings of Humanz and The Now Now. The piece itself is gorgeous, as Albarn cries over the lowrey organ, Paul's heavy-hitting bass line and Tony's laid-back drumming. The violins are absolutely stunning and get to me every single time I hear them. God, the piano is so great on this as well! "If you got dreams you keep, and you're leaving me, I'll see you in the next life, don't follow me." If the Last Man to Leave felt like the climax, then The Poison Tree is the falling action. Relationships are split apart as people bid their farewells to unity and go off on separate paths, never to even think about rekindling together again. The last lyric is particularly striking as well and always gives me the chills. "Of a last crusade to save me from myself." It's like an admission that maybe nothing could really save this relationship from falling apart, from "lying on a fallow field." Now that I got to talk about the song itself, one of the most emotionally impactful parts of the record is the name.


The track refers back to William Blake's 18th century poem, working on one level as another callback to old British culture alongside the dummy motif in the videos and the photos from vintage black and white films on the cover and in the lyric booklet. The real impact lies in how Damon is connected to this poem. Long ago, back through the rose-colored years of the Parklife era, Blur slipped in a track they started during the recording of Modern Life is Rubbish, but never quite finished because there weren't quite lyrics attached to it. In a stump as to what to sing about, Damon only wrote the chorus while the rest used the original Poison Tree poem for lyrics. The song, called Magpie, even sounded like a callback in and of itself to the Madchester sound of Blur's debut Leisure meshed together with what Blur had formed into around the Modern Life is Rubbish era. I had already listened to Magpie a while before this album had come out, but I didn't look into the backstory of it until the track list for Merrie Land was revealed and people pointed out the reference, instantly amazed when I saw the connection for myself. In an album that felt like it had its share of callbacks and echoes of past Damon work while still feeling like its own thing very different from anything else in his library, it was really touching to see this poem getting brought back up again. It felt like things had gone full circle, and I really appreciate that.

This album is an absolute masterwork, being not just Damon's best album this decade, but also one of the best albums he ever made, only being bested (possibly) by the first record with this group.  Merrie Land is shocking, emotionally heart-wrenching and expertly crafted by some of the best minds in music coming back together to create the best artistic statement of 2018. While just having the main album by itself is enough of a blessing, those who bought the deluxe or super deluxe version were fortunately graced with two bonus tracks. While neither track would quite fit on Merrie Land, they're both fine pieces of work on their own and rapidly becoming some of my favorite Damon Albarn b-sides.

12. St. George and the Blackbird - While on first listens, I seemed to slightly prefer the other bonus track, time has slowly given a chance for this one to grow on me so much that I actually like this one even better now! It's a soothing, heavenly folk song with these really pretty keyboards alongside the acoustic guitar. Damon's vocals are in top-form here as well. Am I the only one who gets reminded a little of Stop the Dams with this?

13. The Imperial - This one feels much more laid-back than any other track on the record, with its jazzy Latin trumpets adding some energy alongside some pretty awesome drumming from Tony Allen.  I feel like I could try to talk more about this, but I can't really make heads or tails of the lyrics and what they could mean, other than seeing images of high tide sandcastles and drunken politicians by the seaside. It's just an absolute jam of a track, and it works very well as what it is. It's superb as an extension of Merrie Land, even if it might not fit into the main album.

I just wanted to add this because it was funny and great.

And so we have come to the end of Merrie Land, and with that, 2018 for this blog. It's been a lot of fun writing down my thoughts about music and media on here. I can feel like I'm starting to grow just a tiny bit as a writer, able to better communicate my feelings about a work and find things to say about one. I don't know what 2019 has in store for me, but rest assured I'll be coming back here to write when I find interesting things to say. Speaking of, I'm gonna be talking about some anime pretty soon here. There's been a whole year of great stuff and I can't wait to share my thoughts about what was cool! Hope you'll be along for the ride.

Later, dwi wrth dy gefen!

Summer 2018 Anime: 1 Month In

Hello and welcome, all three people who read this thing! I haven't done a post talking about anime in a while (it's been almost three months!) I did say on my first post ever on this site that I would cover anime, and I really don't think I've held up much in that regard. It's not like what I have used this blog for was a waste, by any means. I just could stand to talk a little more about my absolute favorite hobby! So here I go, as I take a dive into what's turning out to be another great season!

2018 for anime so far has been quite an amazing experience, with winter having lots of slice of life for me to consume not too long after having finished K-ON! and finding new love for the genre and just about anything with adorable anime girls in them. Spring was great too, with Wotakoi being one of my favorite anime this year and one of the best romance shows I've seen and other stunners like Megalobox and Steins;Gate 0 sprinkled throughout. I did end up putting a few shows on hold however, but there's was still lots of stuff that interested me enough to continue to now or finish. Does summer live up to the high expectations set in place by the rest of 2018? So far, I think it's doing a fine job of that!

I had stuck very close to the shows I had planned on watching when looking at the seasonal guide beforehand, a recent phenomonon of mine. I wanted to keep to thing that looked super super good that I felt like I could watch for the whole season. What deviations I did make from my planned seasonal watch list I ended up dropping anyway, and I might as well get those out of the way first before getting into the cool stuff. Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs was a pretty typical supernatural harem comedy, with not much to impress me. There were some jokes that landed, but lots more didn't and felt too heavy on jokes that were already getting tired in 2008.  I guess it's cool that a more typical harem show has come out for the big fans of the genre, as harems that weren't tied to battle shows or fantasy adventures have become a bit of a rarity lately, but this didn't have enough in terms of characters or production to really grab me in. The other drop so far was the little-known space adventure series The Journey Home, a story of a chironomid bug and their friends trying to make it onto earth. The CGI is very fluid, and Gurihiru has some appealing character designs. There's also nothing really like it this season, but the focus on exposition dumping and uninteresting characters made this show feel like a bit of a chore that I wasn't really anticipating another episode of. It does say something about this season when even the shows I dropped weren't even completely godawful! That's a good sign in my book.

Now onto the stuff I believe I'm watching to the end. Keep in mind that many of the shows I'm listing I'm not caught up with, but I have at least seen the first two episodes of (with the exception of one show that just started in the last week that only has one episode as of this writing. I admit I've been falling behind, but that happens every season and is but a natural result of watching as many shows as I am. I won't be talking about any leftovers from past seasons either. First I'm going through the shorts this season rapid-fire to get those out the way first. Even though I haven't even seen the Cinderella Girls full length anime, I'm still enjoying the latest Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls Gekijou season. It's short, sweet and I love the character designs, as there truly seems to be a character for everybody to latch onto and adore. Working Buddies 2 continues to be a neat little show of two cats working different odd jobs, as well as having a really fun twist for the third episode that I don't wanna spoil here. One Room, a show about literal self-inserting as you play pretend that you hang out with anime girls from a first person perspective, is back for season 2. I'm liking this just as much as season 1, and I don't mind 4 minutes of wish fufillment a week. Yamishibai came back for season 6 and it's Yamishibai alright. You love horror, you might be down for these shorts. Oshiete Mahou no Pendulum: Rilu Rilu Fairlu is a very calming 12-minute iyashikei show about a girl getting transported in and out of a land of fairies in a book. The animation in the fairy world is...rough, to say the least. I got over that pretty quickly when I saw how colorful everything is and how soothing it is. It's the only iyashikei this season, so it's an even more welcome addition to my season lineup. Hopefully fansubs don't die out too quick. Last but not least is the third season of Yama no Susume, a show I had been catching up on in anticipation for season 3 about schoolgirls going mountain climbing. It's just as wonderful as season 2, and I love that I get to see more of the adorable Honoka from towards the end of the second season. It's the best short of the season, by far.

Onto the full lengths! I'll be splitting these shows up by genre. Some I'm fully caught up with, but many I'm a little behind on.

Action: Sirius the Jaeger may very well be my favorite show of the season, even if I was starting to feel a tiny bit weary at the more exposition heavy fourth episode. The 1930's setting is really cool, and when there's fights, the fights are amazing. This vampire-fighting show is one I look forward the most each week. It isn't disappointing so far! Speaking of cool, Banana Fish has cool in spades. It's got cool oozing off it's setting and atmosphere, as well as it's badass action scenes. I'm certainly getting a "retro action OVA'' vibe from this like I did MAPPA's last work Garo Vanishing Line. Most importantly, I really wanna find out just what the hell that term "banana fish" even means. Cells at Work has one of my favorite color palettes of the season, one with lots of bright reds and light blues. There's lots of fun fight scenes and situations at play, and certainly educational too. Little can match up to it in terms of pure fun this season (and before anyone asks, yes the platelets are great.) Gintama is back from a quick break for a second part to the Silver Soul arc. I loved the first part's mix of drama and comedy into a total thrill ride, even though this season seems a bit more dramatic than last. I'm still on board though, Gintama all the way!

Comedy: There are several pretty fun choices for comedy this season. There's the demonic Jashin-chan no Dropkick. It's really fun to watch these different supernatural creatures just hanging out around the MC's house without much of a care in the world. The faces feel more 90's or 2000's in their design (maybe it's something about how angular the faces are?)  All the girls seem very cute, especially the gothic lolita main character Yurine. I really liked how the first episode was approached with the transition from Yurine summoning Jashin directly to a whole bunch of demons just hanging around Yurine's apartment having hot pot, that took me by surprise. My brother thought before the show came out that it would be more along the lines of Maid Dragon, seeing Jashin and Yurine on the poster and the brief description. It seems to be much more focused on getting big laughs than the mix of light drama and more soothing comedy of Kyoto Animation's slice of life hit. Another stark difference was how the characters were introduced. Maid Dragon took its time to introduce everyone and this show prefers letting the audience see how these characters interact with each other after settling in and maybe considering going back to see how they ended up there. I'm still having a really fun time with it. There's Next, Chio's School Road is another fun gag series involving vignettes chronicling Chio, an orange-haired gaming fanatic on her way to school. Every day seems to bring up new challenges for her to get there on time. This sounds like a show that could getting tiring pretty quickly in 24-minute chunks. Thankfully the challenges for Chio's journey to class are always hilarious. If it keeps being as funny as episode two and makes the situations varied it'll certainly be a highlight in a comedy-packed season. Ongaku Shoujo, an idol show with a lead who can't even sing. It seems to be idols doing some idol stuff. I really like the character designs, especially Uori's and it's a nice way to spend 24 minutes. Sunohara-sou no Kanrinin-san is a pretty breezy slice of life may-as-well-be-a harem with a middle school boy moving into a dorm with older women. It's got some bright pastel colors and a very cute gyaru in the cast, so I'm all in. Grand Blue is a really funny series about college parties, underage drinking and supposed diving. Episode two was the funniest of the episodes with the room decorating jokes. Watching this show is a load of fun and I would love to party with these guys. It's got some really funny reaction faces too. Speaking of reaction faces, Asobi Asobase is definitely one of the finer comedies around this season. I'll admit that I got fooled by the OP and poster and thought I would've gotten a Manga Time Kirara-style cute girls doing the absolute cutest things, maybe getting some yuri undertones along the way. What I got was something a little raunchier, focused on providing fodder for 4chan reaction image folders than the calming nature of many shows with a similar setup. I'm really enjoying the character dynamics on this one and how it deviates away from many of its kin in its approach. It's got this nice looking pastel artstyle too. High Score Girl is my second favorite anime this season, one that could possibly crawl up the ranks depending on how Sirius fares the next few weeks. I was a little weirded out by the CGI, but I got settled into it well after the first episode. Having a rom-com centered around 90's videogaming is honestly one of the most creative premises this season, and I love the dynamic between the two main characters and how Akira uses her body language to play off of Haruo. It's also thanks to this show that I found this awesome group who did the opening theme, sora tob sakana. They're this at the surface typical idol group that swaps out a more traditional J-Pop sound for a math rock approach. They have a really good self-titled debut I highly recommend if idols or math rock are up your alley. Back to High Score Girl, I am shocked about how quickly it pulls the timeskip card in comparison to other shows, with the aftermath of the tearjerking third episode. It's not a detriment to the show at all, just something that took me by surprise. I was hoping to find a romance show I could enjoy as much as I did Wotakoi after I saw the last episode of it and I was shocked to see how soon that day would come. Too bad there's gonna be people who aren't watching this because of Netflix doing what they do best and holding the show until it's complete and they have a dub for it but I hope people can find it and watch it because there isn't much better for anime romances this year than it.

Drama/Horror: I'm not actually sure what to think of Happy Sugar Life's first two episodes. There's crazy and there's yuri? I'll keep watching out of pure intrigue. I liked the three volumes of the manga that I could read for it, so I was shocked at the announcement for Muhyo and Roji's Bureau of Supernatural Investigation to get a TV anime. It's a decently obscure Shounen Jump mystery/horror manga from the mid-2000's about a pair of spiritual detectives tracking down and banishing ghosts under Magical Law. The adaptation turned out decently well., getting what made the manga exciting right here in full color and animation. Moving away from horror into the dramatics, the number three spot for the anime of the season contender is.... Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight! A great premise handled excellently by some of the best directing of the season. When I saw the show on preseason charts, I assumed would be Love Live with performing arts (not a bad thing by the way!) What I got was something more dramatic with some crazy awesome performance arts fighting and a talking giraffe. Everything is better with a talking giraffe. This show is one of the most entrancing of 2018 for sure. The wait for episodes kills me inside.

Mecha: Even though I didn't quite finish any of them, I really liked what I've seen of the various Zoids series that came out throughout the years, so Zoids Wild definitely took me by surprise when it got announced for an anime after going dormant for so long. It's a pretty OK kids mecha show. I wouldn't mind getting a Wild Liger model kit. I don't have a whole lot to say about this one, maybe watching past episode 2 will give me more to say. Planet With is a fascinating project this season. Satoshi Mizukami's designs carry over well into animation, I'll admit that the main reason I wanted to watch this, other than for Mizukami having his hands over it, was because of Ginko's kinda cute design. What I'm staying for now is an intriging tale where you're not quite sure who's quite good or bad, or why the main character is fighting, leaving some interesting questions in between episodes. This show definitely has me guessing about what's coming next.

Sports: There's three different sports shows I'm watching this season, that all seem to go in different directions. First is Harukana Recieve, the Manga Time Kirara adaptation of the season about a girl named Haruka who moves to Okinawa and starts playing beach volleyball. Next is Hanebado!, about a girl slowly settling back into badminton after cutting off from it in middle school. Last is Free!: Dive to the Future, with the cast of the first two seasons as they move onto adulthood. Besides the different sports,  the three shows all seem to have different approaches to a sports narrative. Harukana leans the most on the comedic side of things, with a greater focus on fanservice and showing off just how cute these girls are. The girl is also a newbie to her sport as opposed to the other sports anime leads. Hanebado's lead isn't new, she was just hesitant to get back to playing. Hanebado also leans towards drama. Free also goes for drama but with an all male cast and having better animation than Harukana (it's about as good or better than Hanebado.) The lead is also the most experienced of the three, Haruka having been swimming since middle school as the show focuses on his college years. Which one is best? I'm going with Free, but Hanebado comes close.

Since I'm done with all the new stuff I'm watching I may as well start talking about plans for the future. Simply put, the way I watch anime in my day to day will be changed. Last week, I was putting more episode data in for my Kitsu.io list. Looking at that list, I had a realization. "I'm watching 55 fucking anime!" It just then, scrolling through my list of close to 500 shows I put on hold for later just how truly huge my viewing habits have become. So I had an idea. Let's not watch 55 fucking shows next season! As it turns out, it could be easier than I thought. I've been looking intensively at live guides for each anime announced for the fall season. Instead of just picking up whatever I come across, the 5-10 coolest looking shows are what I pick up, a far cry from the 30 new shows I picked up this time. I'm changing my strategy for a few reasons. For one, there isn't as much cool stuff next season, but the stuff that looks good looks really damn good. Next, I'm starting to watch some, and I can't believe I'm saying this...shows that aren't anime. DUM DUM DUM! Seriously, I do watch some cartoons and the odd live action series every so often (I'm watching Preacher right now!) I've just been meaning to watch more J-Drama, especially ones based on manga I've read or anime I've seen. I tried a handful a few years ago but never really finished any of them, and I wanna get back in the game. Most importantly, there's college. It's coming up fast, and the workloads will be heavy. There will inevitably be a cutback in any hobby time, anime included. It's not to say I don't love anime. It's the opposite, I love it more than I ever have before and I appreciate just how it has showed me things I never would've delve into otherwise more than before! It's also leading to my last reason for this switch. Backlog! Less focus on seasonal shows, more focus on shows I've been meaning to watch or finish throughout the 6 years I've been watching anime. I think this will be a refreashing change for me, i think. Oh, and I'll be sure to blog about these shows too. So what's your favorite shows from this season if you're watching anything? What sounded the most interesting from this that you wanna check out? Lemme know in the comments. Sayonara~

Albums I Adore (and Why You Should Too!): Gorillaz - The Now Now

I'll admit it. I'm a pirate. As soon as I heard word of leaks, I got to them pretty quickly. That's how I'm able to write the post you're seeing now this fast, after all. I'll be repenting for my sins by buying the vinyl set soon (and who wouldn't, with all the cool art inside?) Maybe even the cassette, too, because if there's one thing I love, it's novelty. Although I'd snap up a physical release for this anyway, with just how damn good this thing is. I'm getting too ahead of myself, so I'm resetting myself and getting back on track to review the new Gorillaz LP, The Now Now.

1. Humility - Summer jam of the season confirmed! This album is starting off pretty damn strong, as this track is in my top three on the album, and surely one of my top 10-15 Gorillaz tracks of all time. Let's start by saying I love the guitar on here, provided by one of only three guests George Benson. It's just so damn groovy here, and it really slides in well with this bright track. Does anyone else think that this reminds them of Ghost Ship from The Magic Whip? This song seems like it could slip in perfectly on that album. Plus this song is easily one of the group's most replayable. I've heard this track close to 30 times by now and I still can't get enough of it.  I had honestly been in one of the happiest moods I had ever been in thanks in part to this coming out. I felt like I was 2D in the video, happily skating along through life, finally being someone at ease with myself and not letting things get me too mad anymore, feeling almost invincible. If a song can make me feel like that, then there's really gotta be something to it, shouldn't there be?

2. Tranz - DO YOU LOOK LIKE ME? DO YOU FEEL LIKE ME? I see we're only two tracks in and already at the "punk" song. Looks like Murdoc may have had more of an influence on this album than he thinks. This song always gets me pumped up every time it's on and never fails to get me chanting along (however horrific I may sound in the process.) It feels almost hypnotizing, but I can't imagine why...

3. Hollywood - I thought when listening to this feature packed single live months before the album release that this was gonna feel more like several of the cuts off of Humanz, being a little faster paced and upbeat. What I got in this studio version was something a little more chilled out, and I honestly think I like this direction a little better after giving the studio version several spins. It's got a nice hook from 2D, some fun if not as polished verses from Jamie Principle, and a great verse from Snoop Dogg. It's always nice to have Snoop Dogg around it seems. Makes me wanna check out the real Hollywood for myself someday.

4. Kansas - The beginning of this one certainly reminds me of Every Planet We Reach is Dead. "I'm not gonna cry" was exactly was I was thinking listening to this whole album. It works as a pretty infectious hook by the way. This has a pretty great beat to go alongside it too! It's just so pleasant to listen to as 2D goes on this lonely journey through Kansas with a broken heart. Songs like this were exactly what I was hoping for in a purposed 2D solo album.

5.Sorcererz - This was my second favorite single off the album. I just love that Junior Dan from the self-titled album is back on bass here! It's got this super catchy chorus that's just absolutely infectious and it's gotta be the one that gets me dancing the most off this album (however horrific that may be in the process.) Did I mention that "Everybody mining their own inner vision" is such a cool lyric?

6. Idaho - When I heard the live version of this back in fall, it seemed like a somewhat straightforward country song done entirely though acoustic guitar. It was an intriging choice of song to play a few months after the very dance focused angle of Humanz and a fine and calming song in its own right, but not something I came back to much. This studio version blew that original performance out of the water. The production was what really made this song work in my view. It's a lot more atmospheric and feel almost otherworldly now in its fully finished stage. Plus I noticed how the lyrics got completely switched around for this, so sadly no Bruce Willis namedrop like in the live version.

7. Lake Zurich - It's a miracle! Somehow a transition from atmospheric country music to 80's synths works! It's the best instrumental Gorillaz has ever done, hands down! While I was a little weirded out as to exactly why any sort of instrumental got released as a single, it works as a great proof-of-concept to the album's direction towards 80's synthpop. The synths knock it out of the park on this track by the way. I love the weird mumbled chatter going on towards the middle of the song too.

8. Magic City - This one is very close to my top three on this album, like it's soooo close.  I adore the beat here, the lyrics are so precious and I love the guitar here from Noodle. I have heard that Graham Coxon playing guitar here on this track, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was. The guitars feel ripped straight out of something like Lonesome Street off Blur's The Magic Whip. I love the imagery of having a billboard on the moon too, I'm just not sure why.

9. Fire Flies - Really feeling some strong Everyday Robots vibes here in this slower, atmospheric track. It's nice that this track experiments with having different time signatures compared to the rest of the album, it really helps give this a unique sound. It's just ok during the first verse, but it really takes off by its chorus. "All you ever get from the sonnet is the court of the fallen man" is another beautiful lyric in an album in an album that seems full of them.

10. One Percent - I was floored when I heard this track for the first time. It's another track that carries with it echoes of Everyday Robots, but it's honestly better than almost anything from that album, as much as I love it. By far one of the most emotional tracks that Damon Albarn has ever written. The most impressive thing about it is how it can carry all this emotion and deliver it in just over two minutes, being the shortest of the record's eleven tracks. Everytime this song comes on brings chills all over me, bringing me the same otherworldly sensations that Idaho does on this record and tracks like Stop the Dams from D-Sides or A Soldier's Tale from The Good, the Bad and the Queen do at other stops in Damon's discography. The first time I walked away from this track, I knew that it was an absolute masterpiece and one of the best Gorillaz songs ever put on record. However, it somehow does not take my number one spot for being the best song on this album, settling for number two. Now what does?

11. Souk Eye - This may very well be the best song Gorillaz has ever made. There. Attack me in the comments all you want, throw negative karma at me on Reddit, it doesn't matter, I'll take it on! Never have I loved every facet of a Gorillaz track so much since Stop the Dams, the track that had up until this point been crowned the honor of best Gorillaz song. I love these lyrics, lines like "If loving you's a felony now, then I'm a renegade" are just so great. I absolutely adore the beat change, turning from a Latin-influenced ballad to incredible dance song all the while feeling completely natural. I love the piano clinking along throughout the ending. I love that Demon Strings seems to be back for this track, particularly for the outro. That fade out is giving me some serious Tracy Jacks from Parklife echoes and it sounds gorgeous. There couldn't have been a better pick for a closer than this, it's perfect in every way.

That ends The Now Now. At this point and time, it's equal to Demon Days as my favorite Gorillaz album, with so many highlights and gems that make up some of the best of the animated group's discography. Ace is a great replacement for Murdoc while he's out being a jailbird, he's really holding it down on these tracks. I seriously cannot thank Damon Albarn and James Ford enough for bringing this brilliant cycle of introspective tracks to fans, and to Jamie Hewlett for bringing some of his best live visuals and awesome artwork to the album and shows. I see The Now Now as what The Fall could've been with more time attached to the songs. All in all, it's Damon's best work since The Good, the Bad and the Queen all the way back in 2007, which i will be covering very soon. Well I gotta run soon, so enjoy the album! It's truly something special to me, maybe it'll be to others.

Spring 2018 anime

   At the time of this writing, the spring anime season is about halfway over. While this spring may not have been as amazing as absolute wonderland of slice of life anime that was this winter, I still, as I always do, find lots and lots to appreciate about this season.
 
   For starters, there's been a decent bit of kids' anime starting up alongside the several shows continuing from past seasons. As I am sure readers will soon learn, I have a big soft spot for these anime, and this season knew just how to push my buttons. Both Aikatsu and the Pretty Rhythm franchise got new series this season and both are winners in my eyes. I particularly like how Kiratto Pri-chan, the Pretty Rhythm series, integrates its use of a youtube or nico nico style website as its main selling point. It really keeps things fresh without feeling forced or out of touch, going alongside the typical idol activities. Speaking of idol activities, Aikatsu Friends feels more in line with its predecessor in terms of plot than Pri-chan does to Pripara, but it still works anyway. I have always enjoyed what I have seen of Aikatsu in the past, and Friends looks like it's continuing that trend of breezy slice of life that makes your heart feel warm as you watch these girls develop together.
 
   Youkai Watch got a surprising continuation in Yokai Watch Shadowside. Set 30 years after the original, the timeskip brings with it a sudden turn in genre. Yokai watch proper worked as a sort of sketch show, with a main plot taking up most of the time while several minutes get devoted to different sketches about Yokai totally unrelated to main character Keita's antics in the A plot. Instead, Shadowside is more focused, having only one plot throughout an episode, as well as becoming somewhat more serious. While the adventures in the original were always comedic romps, the tales here veer more towards horror and action than jokes. In some ways it reminds me of the standout new kids' show (and one of my seasonal favorites), GeGeGe no Kitaro. Kitaro comes back to stamp out yokai once again, but what wasn't expected was its sudden following with otaku who may not otherwise follow other kids anime. This could be credited to its strong episodic storytelling and sharp direction, functioning beautifully as a horror anime. The catgirl, Nekomusume, might also play a part in that attention. There's a new Layton anime this season too, focusing on Layton's daughter, Katrielle. Each case has been super fun to watch, with smooth animation and a very comfy setting.

   What could be the most anticipated daytime anime on the air is My Hero Academia, back at it again for season 3. After an impressively strong season 2, season 3 does not disappoint. Season 3 is shaping out to be just as strong as 2. I could really feel the impact of Midoriya using One for All during the newest episodes, my heart racing as he faced off against a villain giving me just as much of an adrenaline rush as Midoriya did and it was all I needed to know that HeroAca will stand out as one of this season's absolute best.

   Switching to late night anime, one immediate standout was the arrival of Megalobox. This Ashita no Joe spinoff OOZES style out of every possible corner. The soundtrack is great, from its roaring opening theme to the intense main theme. Its gritty sci-fi setting feels truly realized through the stunning background art to maintain its dark urban atmosphere. The fights are especially slick, and the directing makes your heart pounce as each blow connects. It feels like a no brainer as a potential pickup for Toonami on Adult Swim. It would fit in great. Several big franchises, like Steins;Gate, High school dxd and Full metal panic came back, and none of them disappoint. My favorite first episode of the bunch was the prologue for High school DxD, an attempt to retcon the ending of the previous season. It became one of my favorite first episodes of the season by showing off what High school DxD did best, cool fights and great comedy with some attractive women. Besides, what could top singing a song about a superhero named Oppai Dragon loving boobs to a group of kids?

   This season wasn't just about meeting up with old friends, but seeing some promising new faces in the fold as well. Hinamatsuri makes for some delightfully funny anime with great animation and well done, likeable characters. Uma Musume is a suprisingly addictive sports anime with a strange premise, and Comic Girls is just plain cuteness, combining my love for cute anime girls and a dear hobby of mine, manga. The chuunibyou girl Tsubasa especially won my heart. Wotakoi is fantastic, a candidate for anime of the season based off its realistic relationships and somewhat calm conversations compared to other romcoms, not to mention its pleasing, colorful artwork.

   All in all, spring is strong! Lots of promising newcomers, absolutely no shortage of promising sequels and reboots, and lots to sink your teeth into. Here's to hoping the rest of the year can hold a candle to this (although Zoids Wild next season points that to a yes.)