Down In the Hole is Texas Pandaa's third album after their 2006 debut One Gleam After the Shadow and demonstrates a band who are wonderfully progressive in their availability and interaction with fans but also refining their music in an increasingly crowded genre. What that genre is depends on one's definition of the slow, poised and melodious tracks that Texas Pandaa produce with such care: shoegaze, post-rock, down tempo, ambient, romance-pop and indie. All could describe the mesmeric harmonies Asako and Mikiko produce backed dreamily by respective guitar and bass as well as Kaz on a supplemental guitar and Nadehiko on drums. Down In the Hole comes off the back of Days, retaining and refining everything that make the group more than just another self-indulgent ambient rock offering and shows a development of exactly what makes them special.
It demands repeated listens, at its best when left as ambient and unintrusive
The stand out entries come swiftly after the album's title track Down In the Hole which sports a catchy melody and child-like lyrics, evoking stories such as Alice in Wonderland or Wind in the Willows which follow from the delightful art that accompanies the album. Suddenly, the second track, is superbly paced: building from the start with a solemn guitar until the vocals cut in, heavy with nostalgia and a melancholy timbre that characterises the best of the album; the lyrics tell of an absent love and reconciliation but even in impressive English they pale to the atmosphere the track crafts and exhibits the greatest triumph of the album overall.
Not to be confused with the horror novel, House of Leaves, House of Five Leaves sports a visually distinctive aesthetic that mixes painterly backgrounds with spindly, dark eyed characters. More effective in motion than in stills, the opening trio of episodes are methodically paced, carefully balancing the meandering story with character development - a cast of rogues that revels in the offbeat and avoids archetypes. Dealing with a variety of social and moral grey areas, the question of who the real villains are underpins a lot of narrative but it is the well crafted protagonist which keeps this series fresh and engaging.
an idea perhaps foreign in anime that frequently features blue haired and buxom protagonists
Masanosuke Akitsu is a ronin down on his luck - unable to hold a steady job due to his perceived unreliability yet too proud to take on manual labour. His luck changes however when by chance he meets Yaichi, a mysterious and carefree man coincidentally on the lookout for a softly spoken but capable samurai to become his bodyguard. Masa's first encounter on the job however reveals an unsavoury side to Yaichi who it transpires is the head of the Five Leaves, a group which kidnaps members of rich families and demands a ransom for their return. Masa is conflicted about this turn of events and although Yaichi has a strange fascination towards him, he cannot in good conscience continue to work for them, even if they do feed him and he keeps company with their members. His unwitting hand in the kidnap of a young boy however may be enough to divorce him from the group for good.
K-On!! is not the harbinger of doom that so many make it out to be. For a show about the twee shenanigans of five high school girls and their band, it certainly is divisive. The first three episodes of the second series however do not highlight why; sure the opening sounds like it was dragged from the circle of hell reserved for naughty bagpipes and a lot of the animation work is demonstrative of a company with enough cash to be extravagant, but it's the fervour of the audience on both sides that likely bifurcates one's opinion more than anything. Despite the nagging question of its purpose, the series' the opening episodes prove an entertaining, sporadically cringe inducing saunter through a world without raunchiness, without violence but with plenty of sunshine and smiles.
the series is diverting attention to other members before the cash cow is unceremoniously milked
Picking up where the first season left off, the majority of the girls in the Light Music Club have now entered their final year of high-school and are dealing with the trials of schoolwork and attempting the get their band, Afternoon Tea Time, off the ground. The first piece of trouble comes from the realisation that after the end of the year, only Azusa will be left - a mad and ultimately fruitless scramble for new members ensues. The cleaning out of the music room cupboard reveals a hidden treasure in the form of their homeroom teacher's guitar. Lastly, peppy drummer Ritsu has a rare crisis regarding her instrument choice, saying that her position at the back of the band keeps her from the spotlight. Her trial run of different instruments ends much as Mio predicted, but does lead to a new song from keyboardist Tsumugi.
Angel Beats! has a very ambivalent opening three episodes: at times it's dealing with infanticide and domestic abuse, the next it's parodying the first Resident Evil film and punting schoolchildren out of windows with oversized mallets. Written and designed by two notable producers from the powerhouse Key, most often associated with the sad-girls-in-snow franchises of Clannad, Air and Kanon, the first episodes are a grab-bag of different influences and storylines which don't shy away from drama but never shed the feeling that there's a twist approaching rapidly.
a touching and emotive one-shot that demonstrates the series has more than just high production values
Otonashi wakes up with no memories of his past and a girl near him brandishing a high-powered rifle. The girl, Yuri, breaks the news that he has died and is now in purgatory, swiftly followed up by trying to recruit him into their fight against the overseer of the world: Angel. Disbelieving her story, Otonashi approaches Angel, a diminutive silver haired teen, who promptly skewers him with a blade which appears from her arm for his scepticism of whether he can die or not. Waking up unharmed in the hospital, it takes some cajoling but he eventually joins the eclectically organised group and, little by little, begins to discover their reasons for fighting and the militant framework which support their rebellion. Their fight against Angel is becoming more vicious, yet Otonashi's memories show no sign of returning and with the threat of death removed, the only thing he has to fear is disappearing.
After breaking free from Yoko Kanno over three years ago, Everywhere is Maaya Sakamoto's new compilation album that brings together fifteen years of vocal work including some of the most iconic theme tunes to some of the most influential anime and a variety of TV and radio shows.
With only one new track on the two CD release, for some it may seem a hard sell for tracks that are available on all of her other albums; however with such a stunning track list, it reads more like a "best of" than simply an anniversary collection. There is a definite split with the tracks: many of them having been featured as anime, TV and radio themes whereas the others are simply memorable or notable works from her six full albums, two single collections and two "concept" albums. The media tie-ins intrinsically link the songs to an emotional theme that echoes the productions they were attached to; they also represent touchstones in the timeline from Maaya's entrance as Hitomi in the Vision of Escaflowne to both the musical and vocal powerhouse she is now. On the other hand, the original tracks anchor the collection to her previous releases and remain more personal to listeners, tied to whatever event or period within their life when they first experienced them.
