Why has this review not been written weeks or even months ago? Time and opportunity would be the lame excuses. But maybe my little wobbly mind doesn't have much significant information to add to what it had already perceived at the incredible Roadburn show, after which I purchased this masterpiece from the merch table.
POIL UEDA - PoiL Ueda (LP) (2023)
The basics: PoiL are a French Prog Rock band. Junko Ueda is a traditional Japanese singer and satsuma-biwa (a kind of lute) player. Their unlikely union, which combines western avant-garde Rock with ancient Japanese folk tales is PoiL Ueda.
Following the album from the beginning the story-telling aspects seems to be very much in the foreground, since the seven minutes of "Kujô Shakujô - Part 1" are just Ueda's sharp voice melodically narrating over an ambient/drone texture, towards the end aided by a male choir. The shorter second part adds rhythm, but still stays within a soundscape which feels very historical.
Only in "Part 3" the band explodes into its full colourful complexity, with a wild polyrhythmic style which seems heavily inspired by both the Zeuhl of Magma and the Tony Levin albums of King Crimson, but never sacrifices its own distinct originality to those legendary paragons.
One subtle key element to achieve that is the usage of a very forcefully played acoustic bass, which places the rhythm section in a very unique spot between traditional upright bass Jazz sound and electric Fusion. And of course than there's always that lute and a voice unlike anything you've ever heard in a Rock context.
The second half of the beautifully packed record belongs to the two parts of "Dan No Ura 壇ノ浦の戦い". Especially "Part 1" is a perfect amalgamation of everything PoiL Ueda can bring to the table. Excentric, weird, instrumentally completely wild (the keys and guitars are really going for it!), but also grounded in substantial context, precisely arranged in every millisecond and all in all just astonishingly listenable and compelling. And yeah, partially also a fuck-ton heavier than you would have ever expected.
PoiL Ueda are a paramount example of how it's still possible to create new exciting sounds by just finding new cross-cultural combinations of themes and genres. It's adventurous, breathtaking, it's high art and it's untamed fun. Cannot recommend this album enough!
Only in "Part 3" the band explodes into its full colourful complexity, with a wild polyrhythmic style which seems heavily inspired by both the Zeuhl of Magma and the Tony Levin albums of King Crimson, but never sacrifices its own distinct originality to those legendary paragons.
The second half of the beautifully packed record belongs to the two parts of "Dan No Ura 壇ノ浦の戦い". Especially "Part 1" is a perfect amalgamation of everything PoiL Ueda can bring to the table. Excentric, weird, instrumentally completely wild (the keys and guitars are really going for it!), but also grounded in substantial context, precisely arranged in every millisecond and all in all just astonishingly listenable and compelling. And yeah, partially also a fuck-ton heavier than you would have ever expected.
PoiL Ueda are a paramount example of how it's still possible to create new exciting sounds by just finding new cross-cultural combinations of themes and genres. It's adventurous, breathtaking, it's high art and it's untamed fun. Cannot recommend this album enough!
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