Did you guys miss my reviews of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION? Wait, there aren’t any for some reason. I was sure I reviewed them at least one or two times. Anyway, there are some songs that I seem to like from this band, but there are others that keep me away at a distance. I found that much of their work consists of the same old stuff that mirrors from one song to the other. One other band that is subject to this is UVERworld. Let’s see if this album does anything different from what we’ve heard before.

Surf Bungaku Kamakura was released November 5, 2008 as their sixth album release. You could say its a blend of old with some experimental exploration into disjunct guitar rhythms. There are definitely differences in blending and what instruments stand out when and where. ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION has kept with their punk rock style. There isn’t really much for fast-paced songs in this album, but good overall. The quality of the audio is nice. I didn’t hear any crackling in the sound, which I always find distracting. A decent pair of speakers can often drown out if not eliminate the crackling from most music though.

Instrumentals: 9.4

Typical rock instrumentation and AKFG styling in the guitar parts. It’s clear and strong with some solid arrangements. The volume of the instruments are at a good level where it does not disrupt the singing. What I do like is how AKFG implements a somewhat raw sound into their music. It’s makes for more of a unique listening experience from other Japanese rock bands out there.

Vocals: 9.2

Strong and clear with some good backup vocals to compliment. The melodies are rather simple and a bit of the same from older projects. Masafumi Gotō has a very unique singing voice that puts a level of charm to this type of music. He does not really explore many different ranges, but Masafumi rather sticks with his comfort zone much of the time in the whole album.

01 Fujisawa Loser

Good beginning that has something of the pillows touch to the intro. When the first verse comes in, the typical AKFG guitar effects come in. The melody is interesting with plenty of intricacies in the guitar parts. I like lead guitar part as if plays a prominent part in the whole song. “Fujisawa Loser” is a laid back song with plenty of style and is probably my one of my favorite songs on this album.

02 Kugenuma Surf

This song is pretty much a follow up to the first song. It is also laid back and very much the same in tempo. The guitar is more unrestrained and is much louder than in “Fujisawa Loser”. There isn’t anything much new here.

03 Enoshima Escar

Another laid back song with nothing much exciting going on. I think it would have been better at this point that a faster paced song was placed here rather than another moderate tempo piece. It’s a decent song, but more of the same short ensembles with basically the same rhythms.

04 Koshigoe Cry Baby

I bet you can guess, another slow song. This one is a bit slower than the first three songs. I guess you could say it’s a punk rock ballad. The arrangement for this song is well done with some moments such as the chorus part. At this point, I feel a bit tired of the monotone elements of this album. You may feel a bit differently.

05 Shichirigahama Skywalk

Fairly unique opening to this song. I like when the vocals come in a fairly monotone style. The song has a cool style to it. The instrumentation is at appropriate levels compared to the vocals. The melody is soothing and takes a different route from the prototypical AKFG song.

06 Inamuragasaki Jane

The tempo for this song is much faster than many of the songs on this album. I would not say that the song is catchy, but it has a unique choppy style to it that makes it entertaining. The guitar part goes into a rather impressive guitar solo that makes this song a boost from the other music.

07 Gokurakuji Heartbreak

The beginning of this song sounds like a Monoral song. After the intro, it goes into the same ol’ Asian Kung-Fu Generation style. This song is also a faster paced song as the previous track on this album. It doesn’t have many newer elements to the style besides the Monoral -like reoccuring rhythmic part that comes in a couple of times.

08 Hase Suns

This song is moderate in tempo with a choppy rhythm in the instrumentals. I do like how this song is assembled with the short, staccato notes in the beginning and then into the chorus where there are longer notes. Good song and worth a listen. The instrumental break is a nice touch and implemented well.

09 Yuigahama Kite

The intro hurt my ears. Decent song, but a bit boring.

10 Kamakura Goodbye

Nice deep acoustic guitar accompaniment to the vocalist. This song is at a nice tempo with a good, gentle melody in the vocals. By this time, I’m asleep.

Overall:

I honestly say that this must be one of the most boring albums I’ve listened to for a while. Nothing much is going on. The first two songs were interesting because the lead guitar part observed some interesting rhythms and notes. It was totally disjunct from the rest of the song. For the rest of the album, there was little differences between each song with the same tempo and drowned out mellow sound. Though you could say you could sit back and just listen to the music and relax, I’d be half tempted to sleep rather than listen to the whole album. Sorry ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION, but please interdisperse some more interesting and faster tempo songs in between your many ballads.

Ratings:

Instrumentals: 9.4
Vocals: 9.2
Replay Value: 6.8
Quality: 8.8
Overall: 8.6 (Great)