Japan
Quiet Life

THE REVIEW

The third chapter of Japan, "Quiet Life" represents the album where their sound undergoes a metamorphosis. From the glam of "Adolescent Sex" and "Obscure Alternatives" (two works honestly not very transcendental), they transition to more polished and electronic sounds, exotic and rarefied atmospheres creep in, in short, it begins to outline what will become their trademark in the future.

In "Quiet Life," the future masterpieces of the band are in gestation.
It starts with the title-track, as it begins you feel like you're listening to "Methods Of Dance," then a disco club rhythm takes over, and carries the track through its five minutes. There are no ingenious ideas, the pace is overall monotonous, but the general sensation one gets from listening is that of a certain elegance.
"Fall In Love With Me" is more inconsistent, the rhythm is more varied and complex, with Barbieri's keyboards delineating a distinctive riff in the "chorus," and there begins to be a semblance, albeit slight, of experimentation.
With "Despair," the atmosphere becomes hazy and fragile, a languid piano evokes summer landscapes at twilight, superbly accompanied by the sax and the voice of a melancholic synth echoing halfway through the track. The pace is deliberately very slowed down, to emphasize the hypnotic component of the sound. A little gem.
The following "In Vogue" deserves to be remembered more. Worthy of the subsequent works, it is the true pearl of the album. A fantastic bass line by Karn, Sylvian's singing ambiguous and suggestive, the track seems to want to go in all directions, not choosing a precise path, so when you listen to it, you can't decipher it except after a long time.
It possesses all the best features of Japan.
"Helloween" is just filler, albeit not unpleasant. As they say, the trademark is always there.
"Alien" is the little sister of "Swing" (Gentlemen Take Polaroids). It doesn't fall below adequacy, though.
The closure is entrusted to "The Other Side Of Life," also guided by the sound of the piano. Unnecessarily long (seven and a half minutes), it ends up boring. Sylvian's singing is too languid and "new romantic," the arrangement monotonous and overly sweet, it's like listening to one of those typical summer hits of the '80s for couples looking for kisses at the jukebox. Insufficient.
"Quiet Life" is for Japan fans. Those who own nothing of this group are better off orienting themselves towards the two subsequent albums because THEY ARE BETTER. It hints at the wonders looming on the horizon but doesn't fully convince. Still a bit uncertain and unripe, it sometimes comes across as overly elaborate. It's the classic album that precedes the masterpiece.