Rhythm Fantasy
"World 2003" CD
Vaudeville
Park Records
Genres: pop, lo-fi, Japanese pop
Vaudeville Park
2-4-25 Nakasu
Takarazuka, Hyogo
665-0021
Japan
Sep 13 - 19 2004 |
Rhythm Fantasy (yes, it's a corny name) are schoolteachers Marilyn
Lo and Reiko Nishida, with Vaudeville Park label head Tatsuhiko
Watanabe contributing occasionally with instrumentation and
songwriting. They play spirited pop music, but their style is
very lite - featuring lush melodies, soft rhythms, and naive
lyrics.
I suppose the key to World 2003 is its unfailing
inoffensiveness. Rhythm Fantasy's immense softness is
enough to make Phil Collins sound like Cannibal Corpse.
With regards to songwriting, these songs range from strong to
melodically impotent. "Little Baby" and
"Miracle" are two of the catchier songs on this record; the
former is a bizarre, cheesy tune with inexplicably unusual lyrics
("You just wanna be a little baby"), while
"Miracle" is cute, bubbly, but overly simplistic. World
2003's less infectious tunes detract from the record's flow
considerably. "Skyscraper" is bland and ineffective,
while the unfaltering optimism of "You Deserve the Best in
Life" could be it's only good aspect.
All in all, World 2003 is adorable and occasionally quite
good, but it will ultimately be too lite and inconsistent to please
most listeners. Only Japanese soft pop diehards should apply.
75%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
7 tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2003] |
