Mix Speaker’s,Inc. – MONSTERS – Junk Story in My Pocket

Maru Music brings you Mix Speaker’s,Inc.’s first full album, MONSTERS – Junk Story in My Pocket (MONSTERS - Poketto no naka ni wa JUNK STORY). Mix Speaker’s,Inc. is a band you’re sure to have heard of if you have an ear for visual kei. But as this release demonstrates, their popularity isn’t due to their outrageous looks and monster-centric story alone. In fact, their compositions are some of the catchiest and most innovative in the scene today. While many bands have to rely on their vocalist to establish their personality, every instrument in this group’s compositions exudes charisma. Each song is full of unusual sounds and strange uses of traditional rock instruments.

Monster Start Instrumental is sinister and creepy, mostly strings and piano. It actually has a fair amount of singing, plus various sound effects like dog barks and cat screeches. The pace speeds up with JUNK STORY, an optimistic and catchy song with zany guitars. S hits the drums with impressive flare during the verses, and seek’s bass frolics noticeably throughout the chorus. Undoubtedly a great song to rock out to live, it’s worthy of the attention given to it in the album title. The chorus, sung by YUKI and MIKI, introduces another of the band’s unusual elements: Mix Speaker’s,Inc. has two vocalists rather than one. Innocent World is another fast, energetic piece, but the sentimental melodies and piano in the chorus give it a comparatively emotional feel. When the vocalists alternate lines in the verses, their different personalities - MIKI is darker and more aggressive - become clear.

My wish [Horror] X’mas is a very danceable number if you can keep up with its rapid pace. Relaxed in the verses with impressive drums and glinting guitars from keiji and AYA, the chorus is hopeful and soaring, while seek’s bass darts all over the place. The acoustic guitar is an especially nice touch, and for the last chorus when the drums change up, the vocal lines from YUKI and MIKI take on a new intensity. Track five,GO! GO! Bremen, dispenses with the rock style in favor of a video game-like digital sound that’s really intriguing and catchy, full of synths and strange noises. One of the most unusual songs of the album, it’s a real credit to seek’s composing ability.

Following is WE ARE HA-CHA-ME-CHA’Z, a rock number that will keep you constantly off balance with its varying rhythms and unconventional melodies. As we might expect from a song made by AYA, we’re treated to an especially rocking guitar solo, overlaid with dialogue between monsters. A number that fully immerses you in a monster's world, it might be a little too obnoxious for casual listeners. Track seven is the first of keiji’s compositions on the album. The Promised Forest (Yakusoku no mori), gives us a break from the craziness. Mellow and relaxed, it’s the first slow piece of the album and brings back the acoustic guitars, and seek’s sliding bass lines are especially imaginative.

BLUE MONS-CAR (Aoi monsukaa) is a short number just over a minute long with plenty of energy and interesting beats and synths as usual. The ninth track, MONSTART Family, will reach a broader audience with its beautiful melodies supported by sprinting bass and piano. Following is MONSTIME, where for the first time on this album, we really get to hear MIKI’s death vocals. Or is that a monster singing? It’s hard for the uninitiated to know. The interlude of vicious guitars is a real plus, as is the incredible energy of the song overall.

To You in the Future (Mirai no kimi e) opens softly, as though it will be a ballad, but then it erupts into a fun rock piece. The vocal melodies are optimistic and beautiful, and often singing in falsetto, YUKI shows off his talent. The track also features heavenly synths, flurries of harp notes and sunny guitars. S’s drum in the verses especially calls attention to itself, forgoing the usual role of support in favor of stealing the show.

Along with a booklet containing the lyrics, all of which are written by MIKI, in romaji so you can learn the words and sing along, Maru Music’s version of the release also includes a DVD with the PVs for Innocent World and If. The first video really cements the characters in your mind and presents a band with a great sense of humor. seek’s God Turtle is especially comical and endearing; thanks to his huge bulky costume and big flipper arms, he doesn’t play his bass at all but rather waves his arms as though taking a leisurely swim. YUKI as Abel Monster and MIKI as Cain Monster sing together in front, demonstrating their hand choreography. keiji and AYA, as the elegant Adam Dragon and Eve Phoenix, play their guitars deftly, and S as Pet Tiger amazingly pounds away at his drums as though he weren’t wearing a huge three headed tiger mask. Even the monsters whose faces aren’t visible - seek and S - show a lot of personality and cuteness. The video for If features making of footage from Innocent World interspersed with footage of If performed live.

This album sheds light on some of the unique charms of Mix Speaker’s,Inc.: use of unusual synths and sound effects, vital bass, imaginative drums and effective use of pauses. There is an element of crazy childishness mixed in that some may find off-putting, but if you can accept it as part of the overly energetic and Halloween-y monsters’ universe, you can find on this CD a number of technically remarkable and catchy songs that are quite different from the rest of the rock music out there.