Kyoiku

Sheena Ringo, the main vocalist of this band, has a wonderful voice in my opinion. Sure, some people may prefer a more calm, sweet voice unlike her rock style singing. In song #8 called T[rX (Service), she uses a megaphone while singing and also hums part of the song with a kazoo. This is worth listening to. Song #10 äÕ`>,¬ (Omatsuri Sawagi) is a samba-like tune that has a wonderful piano entrance. I bought a used cd, and so the case was sort of cracked, but the cd's function is more important to me, so I didn't care.

Great album.

It's a terrible shame that the works of songstress Shiina Ringo and her new band are completely ignored by rock audiences outside of Japan. "Kyoiku" is one of the best albums I've heard all year. With the exception of one somewhat awkward English language piece (for which I left off a star), it's a classic straight through. If it weren't for the language barrier, Ms. Ringo would be the world's next PJ Harvey or Bjork. Hopefully someday this talent will get the attention it deserves.

Here's a tracklist, since at the time of this review, Amazon does not have one. 1. Ringo no Uta 2. Gunjou Hiyori 3. Nyuusui Negai 4. Sounan 5. Crawl 6. Genjitsu ni Oite 7. Genjitsu wo Warau 8. Service 9. Ekimae 10. Omatsuri Sawagi 11. Bokoku Jousho 12. Yume no Ato Total Playtime: 42:07 Not sure what to say, if you like Shiina Ringo, you'll like this, because this it's the same girl. If you're unfamiliar with Shiina Ringo, i'll try to give a quick and dirty run-down. -The music is very loud; I suspect she distorts all her instruments a little bit, raising the pitch and making the music a definite attention grabber, not very good for "background music". -The music itself is (in my uneducated opinion) a fusion of Japanese punk rock and upbeat Jazz. -The music is very much vocal based, the lyrics pretty much permeate all the songs. I'd guess Ringo sings for 40 minutes of the 42 minute album. Personally, the main reason I like the music is that I find the vocals very unique and enjoyable. Shiina Ringo has a nice voice, which, like every other part of her songs, sounds like it was run through an amplifier (in a good way). Overall, the album is very solid in terms of quality. It's hard to really distinguish a few particular songs that "carry" the album. This is a good thing because you won't end up spending your time listen to one or two songs. On the other hand, this could be viewed negatively, as the songs are all somewhat similar. I would give this album four stars, but considering that I haven't really heard much other good music come out in the last three years or so, I'll grade it on the curve and give it five stars.

1. Ringo no Uta The song of apple 2. Gunjou Hiyori Ultramarine weather 3. Nyuusui Negai wish to dive into a water 4. Sounan disaster 5. Crawl 6. Genjitsu ni Oite In reality 7. Genjitsu wo Warau Laugh a reality 8. Service 9. Ekimae In front of station 10. Omatsuri Sawagi hilarious merrymaking 11. Bokoku Jousho mind of homeland 12. Yume no Ato mark of dream