Ringo Shiina
Gyakuyunyu - Kowankyoku

Starting as the Japanese Alanis Morissette with Muzai Moratorium (1999), passing through the shrill and kaleidoscopic rock of Shouso Strip (2000) and the eclectic and refined art-pop of Karuki Zamen Kuri No Hana (2003), and finally landing on an irresistible jazz-pop with Sanmon Gossip (2009); not to mention her membership in Tokyo Jihen. Everything can be said about the national star Ringo Shiina, except that she lacks inspiration, and especially that she doesn't like to do whatever the hell she wants, whenever she feels like it, how and with whoever she likes, still managing to achieve a great commercial success in her country.

A well-rounded artist, a versatile musician, a singer with an unyielding voice (at times she reminds me of my beloved Joanna Newsom in the Ys era, and inevitably a bit of Björk too), a brilliant arranger and composer: Ringo manages to be all this even in the production of an apparently secondary work like Gyakuyunyu - Kowankyoku (2014), a collection of self-covers, or songs she wrote for other artists, now rearranged in various styles.

It's clear that from such a heterogeneous and shamelessly self-referential album no further masterpiece could emerge, although in terms of sound and production we are at absolutely professional levels, perhaps the highest point of Ringo as a solo artist. The 11 tracks listed, with the concise duration of about 40 minutes, draw from the entire musical repertoire of the artist, thus forming a small yet excellent summary, as well as an ideal alternative for those who think that Japanese pop is just an overdose of kawaii like sparkling anime, or a bunch of fifteen-year-olds letting you sniff the red flower of their virginity.

Of course, there are radio-friendly moments, and indeed Private, Seishun no matataki and Cappuccino are the tracks that most wink at the much-maligned/adored j-pop, without however crossing into bad taste: Private, despite those deliberately naive and plasticky sounds, has a refrain and instrumental bridge that are quite amusing and (as far as I’m concerned) make you jump in your seat like an idiot; but it is especially with Cappuccino and Seishun no matataki that Ringo showcases her usual elegance in service of the song form, crafting little gems that the various pop-tarts of the day can see with a telescope at best.

The brass ensemble of Shuen no onna, on the other hand, opens the album with the thunder of a meteor shower: and it is here that the jazziest Ringo emerges forcefully, still reeling from the frenetic, caffeine-fueled sessions of Sanmon Gossip, with those refrains so overwhelming and electrifying they verge on the ridiculous. Along the same lines, we find the instrumental interlude Bouenkyou no soto no keshiki, another marvel where various musicians take turns with the main motif, indulging in a delightful emotional rollercoaster. One thing is certain: working with this crazy lady must be a lot of fun.

Naturally, there are nods to the artist’s rock past: Amagasa and Hiyori Hime could very well be b-sides from the period of Muzai Moratorium and Shouso Strip; undoubtedly pleasant and energetic like the rest of the album, but the author is now a thirty-six-year-old mother, with a well-honed artistic personality, and consequently the youthful charge has somewhat dissipated. Far more striking are the electronic antics like Ketteiteki sanpunkan and Kachou no otoko: particularly the latter, if pumped properly with the right gear, risks collapsing the house walls among distorted voices and hardcore drilling. Manatsu no datsugokusha allows for a fun funky-tasting interlude.

To conclude this beautiful consolidation work (but always with an eye on the future), there is the melancholic Saisakizaka: as in Bonsai Hada of Sanmon Gossip, Ringo joins Yoshiaki Sato's accordion to slip into the sober clothes of a singer-songwriter, and even these miraculously fit her perfectly. In short, Gyakuyunyu throws a bit of this and a bit of that into the salad bowl, manages to be enjoyable from start to finish without major slip-ups and returns to us after five long years an artist once again in a state of grace. Personally, I still consider Karuki Zamen Kuri No Hana Ringo’s absolute masterpiece and I don't think she will ever be able to reach those levels again, but if we consider the qualitative standards of today’s pop, albums like this are, in my opinion, a genuine relief. Maybe not for you, eh!, but it's worth a try.