Reviews (page 6 of 8)
Best Songs: Despair, A Foreign Place Worst Song: Fall In Love With Me
A perfectly fine pop album. Enjoyed
gemütlicher New Wave
Beep boop
Synth/art pop stuff like this isn’t really my thing, but I can appreciate it for what it is so a 2.5 leaning to a 3.
I do really like synth pop but maybe this was a bit early for me?
Poor man’s Duran Duran... and much better than I expected.
This sounds like a scary/emo Duran Duran. Really love the use of fretless bass for texture. Good album. Dark synth pop is not something you hear too often, but these folks do a great job of making music that you know a vampire from the 80's would make.
which came first the japan or the duran duran? i kept thinking i was listening to a duran album. so if japan came first it deserves respect, if duran came first it deserves derision. i've checked with my sources and japan came first. nuff respec. especially like their version of ATP.
Synth pop de la New Wave. Algunas canciones chulas pero se hace largo. No brilla demasiado pero es escuchable.
Sounds like a generic New Wave band. Nothing super interesting here for me.
I moved to Japan in the summer of 1982, three years after the release of this. The Japanese had never heard of it, but had heard of me Nigel Spackman. Their entire culture since '82 is based on my suggestions. Especially the manga porn stuff. I love a bit of that. An octopus strangling a school girl? Yes please.
Yeah is okay. Nothing stood out as bad. Listened without any worries at all, enjoyed it. Probably won't bother again...
Eh. It's okay.
Funky electronic
Rock, cool synths, bass and drums. Worth re-listening
Pop un tanto blandengue y un tanto plano. Se puede escuchar, pero tiene un aspecto muy de los 80. Ritmos suaves y con voz relajada
Pre Duran Duran influencer. I liked the album. Although it won't be a part of the regular rotation, I'm glad I listened.
Good start and interesting but drags at the end
This album was…interesting. I wouldn’t say I loved it, but I didn’t hate it. It was just a bit strange to my ears.
Never heard of them before. Not bad. Won't be my #1 go to, but I enjoyed half of it.
Crazy how much this sounds like Duran Duran. Obviously a big influence on many future bands.
meh
It's really hard to believe this was released in 1979. When I think of Japan I think of the 80s, and this is full of their typical electronica, but it doesn't sound at all out of date, even today. I don't love it, nor hate it, but I can see that it's very impressive for its time.
"Despair" is very dark. Apart from this. not too much standout.
Some solid stuff here, but sometimes it drifts into a bad Bowie impression backed by saxophones
It was forgettable for me Will I listen to again: 0%
Nope, this new wave crap ain’t for me. Enough already
It was pretty good, but nothing too memorable for me
I can see the influence this had but it just didn’t have what its successors would.
I'm quite a fan of Visions of China, but this was mostly tedious for me, especially the slower tracks. 2.4/5
More power to you if you like this album, but I found it hard work. It felt longer than it actually was.
Bland and forgettable.
Not really what I was expecting, but in a better way. The band sounds like a knockoff version of Duran Duran with the uptempo beats, horns blowing in the background, and the drawn out lyrics that blend form one to another. I’ll never go back to this, but it was better than expected.
Like Duran Duran if there were only one Duran. It’s not good.
Track 3 best describes the emotion felt when listening. Despair. This was dreadful
This is a generous score
Hokey dokey
I stopped hearing the songs change and it all melted together into one giant mush that was just okay background music.
There was nothing about it to like and nothing really to dislike apart from the synthesized drum. Hate drum machines.
Bland. Ahead of its time, I suppose, but nothing about it was especially good.
The first couple of tracks felt like some mashup of Roxy Music and Joy Division, and I thought I stumbled onto a new favorite. It petered out from there as it got less lively and more self-serious. His voice is just not strong enough to be the centerpiece of that kind of music.
⭐⭐+ Synth-pop Det är ok men inte min musikstil. Inte så daterad produktion som mycket annat av den här genren. Det är ganska atmosfäriskt och väldigt filmiskt, inte så likt den normala 80-tals synthen och jag gillar blåset. Tror inte jag kommer spela det här albumet igen men kan ändå ge det att det känns gediget så det känns lite taskigt att ge det lägre än en 3a men det får bli en stark 2a. Bäst är Quit life, In Vogue, All tomorrow's parties
This album sounded ok but left me with no impact. I couldn't remember anything about it 30 minutes later.
Blegh. Was alright until that dreadful cover of All Tomorrows Parties.
While Quiet Life isn't terrible, I find very little to talk about here. It's a fairly average, inoffensive piece of Art Pop that didn't really resonate with me. The first track has some interesting moments, but I found the rest of it forgettable. Their rendition of All Tomorrow's Parties is pretty bad, though.
Meh
This was a bit on the boring side.
some is good (quiet life, alien); some is bad (despair, the other side of life). maybe a harsh 2, but it'd be an even more generous 3. sounds ahead of its time though. i appreciate the vu cover. better vocals than nico's.
Not bad, but pretty forgettable. 2/5
First track is great, plodded on a bit from then… velvet underground cover was a surprise…
Honestly I don’t think I’ll be coming back to this album very often but still I enjoyed my time with it.
In the 70s, young disaffected people picked up guitars, bass guitars, and drums and formed punk bands. They may not have been adept musically, but they communicated frustration, rage, and vigor. In the 80s, young disaffected people bought synthesizers, keytars, and drum machines, and created soulless, boring, and depressing music like this. I was a teenager in the 80s, and although I have some affection for the electronic pop of the era, this type of "I'm so sad and thoughtful" music makes me cringe.
boring
I quite liked the opening track on this album, but it kind of fell off a cliff after that. Not sure if it's just an issue with Deezer, but some tracks were at like half the volume of others. Overall I kind of dig the band's sound but no songs really grabbed my attention or were memorable
It's so 80s synth pop that I feel like I should be wearing netted gloves and have big hair.
Very deadpan 80’s pop.
4/10 Started alright. Proto-Duran Duran, without the big hits. But track 3 killed the vibe and it never recovered.
The band name and the outfits are very performative and the music is subpar. I don't know why these songs need multiple versions. I liked that the bass played a central role, and the inclusion of saxophones and strings was refreshing. Quiet Life is decently catchy. These guys probably think they sound psychedelic and eerie like some of the talking heads' songs, but it mostly just comes off as lethargic and uninteresting. The bass playing and the funkiness it produces, as well as them sometimes almost sounding like the talking heads at points, has secured a whopping 2 stars for this album. I also kind of like All tomorrow's parties for its major harmony and "A Foreign Place" for its loose inspiration from Asian traditional music, but it's not enough to warrant a 3.
A bit to pop spacey for me.
Not great, kinda boring.
This sounds like generic British stuff, not a fan. It was definitely more interesting to see the release date. (It sounds much newer than that.) But still... meh.
Gar nichts meins Zu vie synthy zu viel 80s
Another sad 80s boy 2/5 but maybe I’m grumpy
Parts of this really cook. Other parts lag
Escucha
Ei ihan auennut minulle.
Välillä ihan jees mutta ei nyt mun cup of Tea ⭐️⭐️
Had all the ingredients but didn't bake well for me, might be a mistake to go 2* but it's a 5/10 for me and will try to revisit sometime
Disappointed in this one. I thought I'd enjoy it - I know one or two tracks by Japan, perhaps from a bit later in their career - but it just seemed dull and passive, nothing grabbed me.
It was okay? I guess? Idk there’s really nothing special about thing here. Bass player is good though.
Boring synthpop rock. Vocals are decent. I feel like I should hate this style of singing, but I don't. Being a weeb during the 70s is kinda crazy though. They didn't even have good anime back then.
This wasn’t good
The only quiet life I am after is not listening to this
Ugh could not get into this
Another heavily synthed new wave album, this one had a couple pretty good tracks but not really my style.
Weird synth music
Voorloper electronica
the glam-rock/synth-pop blend is very easy to spot. i can say the mixture was well done even though i only enjoyed listening to Fall In Love With Me. I would have liked Other Side Of Life much more if it had a pink floyd-like guitar solo at the end. the other songs were not as catchy nor funky but 1 star would be unfair and hypocritical to the potential Other Side Of Life has and to how much i enjoyed Fall In Love With Me.
I like the fretless bass on some the songs, but that’s about it.
eh, alright, sounds like tears for fears a little vocally. some repetitive noise in a way that gets on my nerves
No, Mr. Dimery, I really don’t need to hear every single generic British new wave album before I die. Minus one for all tracks being two minutes too long.
I though I was not going to like this new wave pop album. I was right. 3/10
Hard to get excited with this one. Terrible band name and it sounded like Duran Duran without any hooks. Strong 2.
Unremarkable, but decent ambient/background tracks. That doesn’t lend itself to be an essential album though. 2.5/5 rounding down
Knowing this was released in 1979 impresses me because it sounds like something from 5 years after that. Otherwise, I'm not really feeling it.
Mix of electronic sounds with guitar. Arrangements repetitive.
It's cool to hear the shift from the distinctly 70s as it blends into the distinctly 80s. It was just a bit slow for my taste
Some good parts, but ultimately the songs are too long. Didn’t hate it, but just ended up feeling bored by it.
Trying to be David Bowie and lowk not really working
Quiet life and life in Tokyo were pretty good, but everything else was not good.
Not for me
My new struggle with this journey is the 'why'? Why must I hear this album before I die? Because it's a great album? Because it influenced another, more successful act? Because if I want to be a music snob, I have to have the knowledge of Japan? This album is fine. I could tell you it existed and play you a song or 2 that sound like Duran Duran. That's all I get out of today's expierence.
i'm glad to see that white people making their artist names randomly themed after japan isn't just something that popped up around the 2010s. it's fitting here because with the lead singer's voice i expected him to start wailing out a vkei song any second fave track: halloween
Duran Duran took this and made it eleventy times better
I can hear the influence this had on some banmds from the late 90s, 00's and 10's but it's not my vibe.
OK
Jesus Christ, this went off a cliff didn't it? Why is there so much bass on the vocals? We also have the English guy speaking French AND calling his band Japan? Pick a slightly above average IQ white guy quirk buddy jeez. Pick a "guy who calls himself a creative" lane here, pal. Nyahh I wanted to hate all of this. It's not that bad. I mean for every "Quiet Life" and "All Tomorrow's Parties" there is a "Despair" which crash lands our spacecraft onto planet boredom. Aliens is rad though. I don't know. This was alright. What do you want from me? Do you want me to tell that I've been to Japan once? I have! It was cool. Of course as a white fellow who enjoyed Japan (the place, again, band is meh) I am frequently told "errrm they have lots of problems you know" as if this "news" will render my world to dust under the weight of their transcendent geopolitical knowledge. Frankly, they're pretty comparable to the problems in Canada, and at least you don't have to listen to an opioid user's iPhone 3 at full blast on the public transit system. I don't know. I had a good time. The ability to understand that more than one thing can be true can officially be declared dead. Thanks social media. Nuance: ∞-2007 2.5 HIGHLIGHTS: Bullet Train in the Japanese sense, not so much the American sense (gun attack at train station)
I disliked this band the first time I heard them . . when they were called Duran Duran.
It was like discovering Duran Duran B-sides
How much New Wave do I HAVE to listen to before I die?
Too experimental? Too weird? Too Boring? Too much? Best Song: Quiet Life Rating: 4.0/10 Stars: 2
listened to it yesterday, and couldn't tell you a thing about it. didn't have much to capture my interest
I listened to this the other day and I don’t really remember too much about it. I do remember that it was pretty generic 80s music for the most part. I feel like this is strongly in the one hit wonder territory more than super influential, maybe I’m wrong but it doesn’t seem that way at surface level.
Chato p caralho. Arrastado
first couple songs are cool. awful cover of “All Tomorrow’s Parties” in the middle and a straight up weird slow sax song
Edged between 2 and 3, but with most of the time resting in 2 land. Their take on All Tomorrow's Parties was a great take on a wonderful song. But much of it was a bit moring, often droning and his singing seemed a bit flat and off key at times. I'm not a huge New Wave fan and this did not seem like best-of-breed of the genre.
Just not for me
Although published 1979, the sound is very 80s. They obviously had an impact on bands like Duran Duran, OMD, etc. So in this way interesting and worthy of being here in the list. But for me not the right music.
ooby scooby dooby music
Weebs?? hell naa
Kind of boring.
Was there ever a Duran Japan superband?
Dig the early new wave music, but the singers nasally voice bugs the hell out of me. And my ex loved this band, so I’ll admit to a bias there
First song was good, rest was eh
album #16 I saw one reviewer saying this album is like Duran Duran on downers and I haven't stopped laughing. It's true, though! I do enjoy that you can see/hear where a lot of 80s synth got it's inspiration, and I rate them for that! However, a lot of the album falls a little flat to me, either sounding indistinguishable from the last or just a bit too forgettable. I'm giving a 2/5 because I liked a couple of the tracks and I like the influence the album had on the following decade, but it's lack of memorability means it loses out on a 3. average track rating: 2.6 favourite track(s): fall in love with me, foreign place least favourite track(s): all tomorrow's parties album rating: 2/5 number of albums left to review: 1,073 number of albums from the list that i agree with being on the list: 8 (+1 Quiet Life) albums from the list that I would consider on my list: 3 albums from the list I won't include on my list: 13
Wanted to like this as I've heard a few tracks that I've enjoyed beforehand. A lot of it all fell flat.
This wasn’t a good album. I’m not sure what was so good about it. Vocals were bad but the beats were ok
I enjoyed Halloween but I was pretty ambivalent towards the rest of this
Perfect new wave. But sadly I don’t like new wave.
To quote Patrick Bateman, this was a “little too, ‘new wave’ for my taste”. This one wasn’t for me, not a fan of the vocals and it just didn’t do anything interesting for me, was happy for it to be over.
chill listen.
No private session used for Spotify. Kudos to Japan for nailing that 80's synth heavy pop sound a year early. I don't like that 80's synth heavy pop sound. This album reminds me of early Duran Duran, but without the talented bassist and guitarist...also with a worse singer.
einschläfernd
Oh, another early New Wave album that no one remembers anymore! At least on “Quiet Life,” Japan sounds like (almost) every other New Wave band. That's why I won't go into further detail and will give it two stars this time as well. The emergence of New Wave must have been very important to the authors. Have I mentioned that there are too many of these albums on the list?
Meh
A British band singing in French, pretending to be Japanese. Despite the identity crisis, these guys put out some alright 80s synth-pop. Half the album was good with "Halloween," 'Quiet Life," and "All Tomorrow's Parties" leading the charge. A few slow, dull tracks that had me nodding off. Not sure the significance in music history with this one and why it lands a spot on the list so 2.18 stars.
Not outwardly repulsive but it just slides off my brain. I don't feel anything listening to this. The vanilla oatmeal of British music.
No comment
suffers from being one of the firsts to influence too much. this is like watching the star wars trilogy then reading dune and thinking old news
Certainly an early example of the kind of synth pop music that would be one of the staple sounds coming from the UK through the mid-80s. It was not a sound I particularly liked, and this album just seems to go on and on. I didn't feel like my ears were bleeding as I listened to it, so it's got that going for it, I guess. But in the two years surrounding THIS album's release, Warren Zevon put out Excitable Boy and Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School, neither of which made the 1001 albums list. Something really doesn't add up there, does it?
Eh, not feeling this, but it’s not terrible.
Not my favorite. A bit pretentious (which isn't always a deal breaker) and too much casio keyboard. I know it came out in the early days of new wave, but it doesn't hold up well. Japan walked to Depeche Mode could run
Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: Despair Pretty boring. Music from the 80s - the new wave genre - continues to enforce my dislike of... the genre. I chose despair for the standout track because it was probably the most interesting track (and instrumental) on the album and because it best represented my approach to this album, knowing I was in for yet-another-new-wave-album-from-the-80s.
kind of creepy which I like. there is some sort of quiet despondency about this general 80s goth/glam rocky kind of music
Outside of the Velvet Underground cover, this album just wasn't my speed. I didn't hate it, but I didn't get into it.
A schizophrenic album. One I don’t like.
It wasn't bad but honestly not that memorable.
Some cool stuff, but mostly forgettable. Wish we could get half stars. 2 feels too punitive, 3 feels too much. Oh well
Hmmm
I’m starting to hate the people who made this list. This is not a ‘must listen’ in any sense of the phrase. To be positive: I have heard worse and ‘A Foreign Place’ was pretty good if I had to choose a song. It’s cool that it inspired a lot of bands to do this sound much better and in more interesting ways than this. Very forgettable.
2.5
Like it's not a bad album, I just couldn't care for it.
This album sounds like an identity crisis, and not one that's fun to listen to. Some good ideas, neat elements, moments that I thought to myself "gee, maybe I should like this," but ultimately, it never gels into anything. It's deeply frustrating to listen to and yet completely forgettable once it's over.
The people of Japan are owed an apology. 2/5.
I don't understand. It feels like a good album, nice music, but not enough in general. I think because it's a very transitional album. I feel like it's influential, somewhere between one decade's sound and the next. Like the transition from glam rock in Bowie's style plus rock, but it's already a kind of synth-pop sound, but not really a synth-pop. "You can't have your cake and eat it too" It's really good technically and etc, but...Do I want to listen to it? Probably no. If it occurs on a radio, I'll be jovial to hear a Quiet Life or Fall In Love With Me, or Alien. It's all good music, I respect a try of mixing all of this, but I don't want it in my playlist. 2/5 —————————————— No liked songs
Not really a synth pop fan. While I'm sure it was an influential album like everyone keeps saying, I don't like what it influenced. That or people saying they were inspired by Roxy Music- another band I'm not a fan of. Favourite song: All Tomorrows Parties Least: In Vogue
This is pretty painful. Just the worst example of 80s British pop and nothing I want to listen again. 3/10 (1.5/5)
Found this to be underwhelming
weird
Really liked the vibe of the album. Flowed well. Started off strong then seemed to fall off a bit. Just fine for now.
Interesting in parts but a very dated album. Electronic music lacks a certain soul at times and this is no exception. The vocals are a bit annoying too. As a souvenir to the times I guess this is worthy
Really not the pop giants they hoped to be. Did not piss me off, but won’t go here again.
Atmospheric but insipid for the most part.
Total snooze, early synth + dark, not quite there
This seems like any other forgettable glam band
It’s definitely a new wave album, but not really much of a good one. At some point I forgot it was playing and clicked another song on Spotify, and never went back.
Fairly OK.
Nothing really stuck out to me 2/5
Kinda boring, don’t really know when I would want to listen to this. Give it 2 because nothing was great on it but I guess it didn’t make me physically ill.
Not sure what this is..
It takes some effort to make 80’s synth-pop sound boring. It wasn’t a hate-listen, like my 1-stars tend to be, but not for me, in a genre I typically find very much for me.
Actually enjoyed bits of this, but the long slow numbers lost me. That, and I think I hate the All Tomorrow’s Parties cover in a reeeeaaaallllyyy close to liking it kinda way
Not really my taste
didnt really listen
It's alright but it goes a bit too far for my taste
I had to double check that I wasn't playing Duran Duran at first.
Usually, I really enjoy synth pop and new wave type sounds. This, however, just didn't really hit with me. With this kind of 80s sound coming out of the late 70s, I can see why this may have been influential, but I'm not really hearing the required listening aspect of it.
I was feeling a light 3 until I hit that cover of All Tomorrow's Parties, man that one is rough.
Not bad, and a little ahead of its time. Sounds like an inspiration for Naked Eyes, but this band's original songs are better.
Why did they have the same song on here three times
2/5
Kinda jazzy but was hard to get into
It isn't a 3, it's more like a 2.65.
I literally had Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This) back to back with this new wave record. I've literally never heard of this band and it seems like they were a bit of a one hit wonder. Once you get past the first song, this thing mellows right the fuck out to the point it's boring. This thing did NOT need to be an hour long.
This felt like an off brand Duran Duran
meandering eight minute ballad ain't for me dawg. and why is an english band naming itself "japan"
2,5
Was fully prepared to hate this and I was merely indifferent.
Influential than, musically only just o.k. now. And the vocals really aren't my favour.
Ok. Felt like jus another synth pop album
Somehow I made it 50+ years of life never knowing that Duran Duran actually formed and produced music in the late 1970s. I had to check multiple sources to confirm the vocalist was not Simon LeBon. Clearly the latter was influenced here? At any rate, the album is reasonably unremarkable. It's interesting to hear British new wave a few years sooner than I previously understood but without any standouts or unique vibe, I'm afraid I won't likely be back around for a listen. 2/5
Good but I’m sick white guys doing the whole Japan thing
It's '80s, but boring. (I am generally an '80s fan) 2.5
This is by turns atmospheric and dull Mainly dull
I can see how this was influential on 80s new wave, but to be honest, I just didn't like it. I didn't enjoy the sound, it felt very whiney and self-indulgent.
Not interested in this one at all.
I couldn’t really getting into this. It was a little too soft for me. I would have probably liked it if I was born earlier.
No standouts
Solid New Wave, with obligatory VU cover to establish credibility. So, not really my thing.
One good song then it’s meh
Meh this was too slow and brooding for me 2/5
This is kind of interesting considering when it came out. It must've been fairly early for this synth pop style and it does sound decent. I don't know if this invented anything.
This has a discordant sound for me. There is always something going on that I find distracting. I find the vocal choices grating. There are instrumental moments that are interesting. 2.5
Maybe I'm getting worn down by all of these new wave albums, but this one as at least interesting. Still not great.
Wtf is that
Not quite sure why this is on the list.
I did like some "glam rock." The New York Dolls and Roxy Music are two examples, but Japan was hard for me to get excited about. I'm guessing the charisma/sex appeal of the lead singer would attract some fans to their shows. There's nothing compelling (or offensive) about this record. It's Not rock 'n roll.
Not my style, but a handful of interesting elements.
Playful but dated.
🥱
I liked Despair, 4/10
Muy repetitivo
So moody. Sooooo 80s. Liked the cover of All Tomorrow’s Parties. Can’t deny the impact but I think I’m more about the later bands that took inspiration!
The album that maybe spawned another shitty sub-genre.
I thought it had moments. The song Alien was pretty great. That said, I'll probably never listen to this one again.
80er - new wave vorläufer - nie gehört...? c
This must have been groundbreaking stuff because this is one of the earlier examples of Brit New Wave we have all heard 100s of times on this list. One song in and I am done. Just boring.
nah
Kind of the same over and over again. Synth-pop/Rock
You can tell the music industry was on the cusp of creating that 80s sound. However, in 1979 it just wasn’t perfected yet and this album is a perfect example of that.
Not my fav, rather depressing
started off really liking it, but the slowing pace and increasingly emo tone of the album kinda lost me! the terrible french was an absolute distraction as well, found that really difficult to listen to. i’ve saved the first song, but the rest i’d rather not listen to again. it started to feel disjointed. also listened to their other album which also started out strong but lost me
Great synths and bass. Vocals are fine, but don't stand out especially. First couple tracks are decent but it kind of loses steam after that. The VU cover is great though.
First song is a banger. Everything else kind of drops off. Difficult to understand the lyrics
Duran Duran straight ripped these guys off. As far as New Wave music goes, I guess these guys are better than most? Seriously, if you told me this was a Duran Duran album, with Bondesque song included (In Vogue), I would have no questions. Holy shit, Giorgio Moroder produced a song on the album! Nailed it!
Interesting at the very least, but unconvinced that this will be memorable.
Pretty mid. Some songs were okay but none i’d come back to.
A bit of a moaning Michael
I liked the vibe, a little long but overall pretty good. A little repetitive and boring at parts though and not super unique
Ugh. Poorly done. I generally like this style of music but this just isn’t it.
Good title, my life felt quite while I listened to this album. No feelings, no interest, no anything. At least it didn't annoy me.
a few good songs with some unnecessary stuff
Good band from the 80’s. 80’s sound.
This was a big bizarre but ultimately forgettable. Not quite my style but it was an enjoyable enough listen that I finished it
The sound of the songs and the singing feels very early 80s. I feel like I have heard the singer before but I know its not the same person. Nothing bad to say about the album but it doesn't interest me at all.
Pretty rompiche
- entspannt aber wenig spannend
There's nothing here that interested me and I have no interest in hearing it again let alone at all.
Not doing much for me. There's some cool atmospheric moments on this album, but I don't vibe with the way the lead singer sings and the general sound isn't working for me.
Perfectly fine
I like a decent amount of new wave, but this was just a bit boring to me.
Ballad dance dance revolution type of level
So I ALSO had the same thought. "This sounds a lot like Duran Duran". Interesting that they came first and influenced both of the Durans. Actually, his vocals sound like a cross between Duran Duran and Roxy Music.... Only not as good as either of them. He mumbles and moans too much and the songwriting doesn't grab me at all. The instrumentation features less than impressive playing (with exception to a few great bass lines). I especially did NOT enjoy the Velvet Underground cover of All Tomorrow's Parties. They butchered it. I hope they have better albums than this. Not my thing.
Nothing special. A couple of songs had me leaning towards 3 but overall I'm keeping it at 2.
Ganz schön modern für 79 aber nicht so meins
почему так много японского?)) но вообще слишком тоскливо, не
A few interesting bits but mostly pretty boring.
Aburridisimo, aunque modernoso. No me acuerdo de nada. Nota: 2.4
not my cup of tea
Buhh! Kedeligt og grim lyd. Men ikke dårlig nok til at gøre sig fortjent til en 1er.
Voldsom meget synth
Bit dull, if I'm honest. Each song felt interminable, even though the average length was about five minutes.
Maybe the reason I needed to listen to this album before I die, is to be able to inform others they don't need to listen to this before they die.
eh
If I had heard this when it first came out in ‘79 I may have been impressed with the innovation or talent or some such thing. But without that context I did not hear anything all that impressive. And their cover of the Velvet Underground actually made me hate them a little.
New wave, but a little less exciting than its contemporaries or successors.
how did they manage to make SYNTH-POP so boooooring. The vocals were really not my style. 3,5/10 (+1 for french lyrics)
Halfway between Roxy Music and Duran Duran, and not as good as either.
It sounds well mixed but the music is very boring and dragged out
cringe ahh pop synth gahhh
This music left me completely indifferent. I can't find anything to say about it. It wasn't bad, but...
Fairly ahead of its time given it's from 1979 but sound like Duran Duran in the mid-80s. Still not my cuppa.
Most of the songs have pretty good music in them, but the singing is not so great. Very repetitive, and the songs are too long. Biggest dud was Fall In Love With Me which had an annoying background track. Despair had some good piano music. In Vogue was pretty fun. Best song: In Vogue
Pitää myöntää etten tykkää ”japanilaisesta äänimaailmasta” eli noista ei länkkäri-asteikkoa seuraavista kilutteluista, tai kannen typografiasta… Mut laulajasta toisaalta tulee mieleen Gazetten Ruki. A-puoli on ihan kelpoa! B-puoli tylsää. Miksi tarvittiin All tomorrow’s parties, ja vielä kahdesti? Jää kakkoseksi.
Nope
I know the country but never heard of the band or album. Hints of Bowie & Roxy and that helps.
More 80s, but kinda lifeless
Not a fan.
Overall a pretty dull album. Have a hard time listening to lyrics delivered so drably. 2/5 Won’t listen again
Easily forgettable but a good background listen. Nice drum fills but because it’s mostly all instrumental, it’s hard to truly get into. Well crafted music but as mentioned, easy to forget. 4.8/10.
I mean, a totally ok album. I will never think of it again but I appreciate its scope and timing of the record in the history of new wave and punk. But also, how many of these British new wavey gothy type albums are on here?
A much better Duran Duran But I don’t really like Duran Duran
Tried this album twice, and could never get into it.
His voice is annoying after a while
I wasn't aware of this band. Probably much loved by whatever the 70s equivalent of emos are. Tried to be dark and brooding, but I found it uninteresting.
Why does a British band name itself Japan, that’s my first issue with this album. It all sounds the same and I am sure there are better albums that should be on this list.
It felt too repetitive
Bleh boring late 70's synth pop. The synthy stuff was fine, kinda boring and repetitive (but that's how most synth pop goes), but not unpleasant on the ears. The dude's voice though, holy cow. That was unpleasant on the ears. That dude sucks at singing. Just straight up bad. Lyrics were totally whatever. Also, y'all are Brits, why is your band named Japan? There is nothing Japanese about what is going on here.
this is like a bad cover band of Duran Duran. with only their weakest tracks.
You could tell me this was Duran Duran and I’d believe you. This is really just a “meh” album. It’s like someone took all of Duran Duran’s non hits and put them on an album. It would probably hit the charts in its day and it may very well have but it has no rocket to the moon song. This is another “it just existed” album for me. They did not win me over.
I found it boring and I looked forward to it ending (both bad signs).
shouldve named themselves Israel for being so ass
Más new wave británica, otra vez. Mismas voces quejicas, mismos sintetizadores ochenteros, y lo mismo mil y una veces. Y encima dos veces seguidas, junto con el álbum anterior que me tocó escuchar. Pros: novedoso para su época, marcando una transición hacia los sonidos synth pop que se popularizarían en los 80 (Depeche Mode, Duran Duran). Variedad, mezcla de temas melancólicos y más experimentales con temas más comerciales, rápidos y alegres. El bajo tiene mucha personalidad, a veces suena un poco a jazz. Cons: todo lo demás. Precisamente, los temas supuestamente más interesantes ("Despair", "The Other Side of Life") son los que menos me han gustado. No soy más feliz habiendo escuchado este álbum antes de morirme. Creo que, simplemente, el synth pop clásico no es mi estilo.
2 can see how it was influential too the 80s synth pop new wave but it’s not the best
Starts off decent, but then falls off into boredom with Despair. Found most of the album to be dull considering this is supposed to be like glam pop. High 2.
Tears for Fears at home
If it wasn't for all of the other Britpop from this era, this is easily mistakable for another DuranDuran album. 2/5
If the first impression I get from this album art is 'Buckaroo Bonzai' is that considered racist? Can't be any more racist than the movie title itself or an English band calling themselves Japan for no reason. As for the music, I'm not overly impressed. None of the pieces really stand out, and when you combine the lyrics with the background instruments is just sounds...lame? The synthwave station (mostly instrumental) is my go-to work background noise and these tracks are a bit slow and drawn out. Too sad. "Queit life" started things off at the just OK bar and it seemed to go downhill from there. I've gotta listen to something else to get rid of this semi-bummer. Favorite track "Quiet life" 1.5/5
Responsible for Duran Duran.
Helt stämningsfullt men har svårt att hitta någo highlights
I'm more into the synthwave elements than the glam rock. The quality kind of fizzles out for me as the album goes on
So much new age on this list. I hear Duran Duran, Shuggie Otis, Talking Heads, the Cure, too many others to list. I've got no emotional connection to it but it's interesting.
sounded like a slowed down great value brand duran duran. not for me.
Listened less than 24 hours ago and I don’t remember a thing about it.
"Quiet" trifft es ganz gut ... Die Lieder bauen sich langsam auf, dauern lang, es passiert wenig.
Sounds very ahead of its time for 1979 - if I didn't already know the date when I started listening, I would've put it right in the 80s. Very Duran Duran esque. I didn't really enjoy it that much though, after a strong opening with the title track I found it drags as you get further in and there is a fair amount of filler
2.5 stars. Title track is cool but outside of that it's fairly drab and forgettable synth-pop.
and i'm asleep...
fine
New wave just doesn't do it for me, and this album didn’t change my mind. Most of the songs feel overly polished and kind of bland. I didn’t connect with much of it, and I doubt I’ll ever feel the need to give it another spin. That said, “All Tomorrow’s Parties” stood out. It leans more psychedelic rock than new wave, and it’s easily the best track here. If the whole album had followed that vibe, I might’ve felt differently. But as it stands, one good song isn’t enough to save it.
Just kind of boring.
his voice is a little weirdo
The first New Romantic LP - even if the band denied the tag, this wrote the book for the sonic picture of New Romantics - drawn, of course, from Roxy Music. Melancholic, slightly detached vocals, bubbly synths, occasional shimmering guitars, drum machines sounding very mekanik
A mish mash of 80s sounding music somewhere between Duran Duran and ABC. Or maybe they inspired them all, I don't know it's just how I felt. Nasally drone vocals for the most part just didn't appeal at all.
A poor man's Roxy Music with a bass player who forgot to tune up? It would have been better if David Sylvian didn't just wake up before recording this. Can hear all the influences too much, and I can hear who they influenced, and that bored me. Flat dynamic range and the sleepy vocals made this into a chore for me. Seems like a lot of what might be categorized as Post-Punk from this era had a very droll style, too cool to really rock. No fun.
Meh at best with a lousy Velvet Underground cover.
I liked the start. Depeche Mode type singer which I don't like. Pretty ho hum album. High 2
This album was not bad but one song was. All Tomorrow's Parties was fucking AIDS. All my homies hate All Tomorrow's Parties!
Some decent synth pop, a little slow for my liking.