Makyuutsu Seimei
Science Fiction
Mustang
Shinkokyuu
Yuusetsu
Mada Minu Ashita ni
*****
Songs in bold are previously released singles. Songs in blue (with a link) have already been reviewed. Those songs will, however, be reviewed in context of the album once more.
*****
Mada Minu Ashita ni (into an unseen future) is Asian Kung-Fu Generation’s second mini-album.. It was released on June 11th, 2008, but the songs were recorded in 2007, during the time when World World World was being recorded. It reached #2 on Oricon and has sold 75 139 copies.
Makyuutsu Seimei (pulsating life) has a very lively feeling to it. It has a more punk-y element to it, compared to the songs featured on World World World, although it does sound kind of similar to Aru Machi no Gunjou. The beginning kind of turned me off, but the rest of the song, especially the kind of abrupt ending, were nice.
Science Fiction follows, and is a more boring song than Makyuutsu Seimei. The vocals sounded kind of dragged, but the guitar work was, as usual, very enjoyable.
The next song, Mustang, is by far the best song on this mini-album. It’s far softer and more mature than the other songs on the album. The chorus was most definitely the best part of the song, with very on-off notes, something which, if executed properly, can makes a song extremely catchy. And, finally, Goto (not Maki Goto, Masafumi Goto) doesn’t have to use his whiny tone quite as much!
Shinkokyuu (deep breath) is the alternative song of the album. It has a weird background tune and the better drum-work compared to the other songs. Goto’s vocal work was very nice on this song, which secures this song’s position at number two on the album.
Yuusetsu (the thaw) re-introduces the punk element Asian Kung-Fu Generation masters, but the vocals of this song weren’t too pleasing. My problem with the song is that I wanted a more orchestral chorus than a mere swing, even though it wasn’t horrible. Yuusetsu isn’t a bad song, but I would’ve wanted more.
Mada Minu Ashita ni (into an unseen future), the title track, is a very nice ending, even though arrangement matters little on mini-albums. I was disappointed by the beginning, because it suggested that it would have a very flashy beginning, which it didn’t. So the verses didn’t hit the spot, but the chorus was really catchy, Ajikan-style.
Mada Minu Ashita ni is much better than Houkai Amplifier, their first mini-album. If World World World was a step up from Fanclub, then Mada Minu Ashita ni is a huge step up from World World World. This mini-album just displays a far more mature sound from Asian Kung-Fu Generation, and they’ve needed it since punk is getting old after six albums. The reason this album is probably so good, is that it’s a mini-album; that means that there’s less space to mess up and less songs to concentrate on, so more quality. Also, all tracks are new; no singles to give the album a specific structure, perfect liberty of creation. The fact that these are the songs that didn’t make it onto World World World surprises me, since most of them are better than half of the songs on World World World, but they probably would’ve destroyed the arragement. I have high hopes for Fujiwara Loser and Surf Bungaku Kamakura, although making an entire album after only one single, right after a mini-album and an album kind of makes me sceptical about the album.
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