| Apryl Fool |
| A
lot of albums and bands get referred to as "seminal," and if there's
anyone in Japanese rock history that deserves that tag, it's Apryl
Fool. The first band of Happy End/Yellow Magic Orchestra mastermind
Haroumi Hosono and 70s guitar guru Hiro Yanagida, most of their sole
album doesn't show the tripped out innovation that its creators showed
in later works. That said, it's not exactly by the number blues rock,
either: odd touches and a subtle underlying atmosphere indicate a more
adventurous set of minds at work, albeit in an embryonic form. Things start off pleasantly enough with "Tomorrow's Child," an organ driven blues psych number with odd time signatures and a lazy but dignified air that recalls early Procol Harum. Vocalist Tadaki "Chu" Kosaka bears some resemblance to Eric Burdon, and the peaks and valleys leave room for some quietly inventive guitar work. There's a bit more to it than the above indicates, however, as things heat up at the 2:15 mark: The guitar starts to wobble, the keyboards show a bit more craze than usual, then everything returns to normalcy a minute later. Nice, but as the alert reader may notice, not exactly Earth shattering either. "Another Time" follows a similar template, and it seems that Apryl Fool's debut is a nice curiosity. It's not until the first part of "The Lost Mother Land" kicks in that the album becomes a very different beast (the clip to the left puts parts one and two together.) This two part track has typically been the focal point of discussion when this album comes up, and it's not difficult to see why. Mid tempo psych backing floats beneath a thoroughly bizarre vocal that sounds more like a heavily processed guitar than a human voice. It's like a more blues based Amon Düül II, tripped out beyond belief and more than a little sinister, concluding with a tortured freakout that collapses into a merry-go-round finish. To say it sticks out from the rest of the album is an understatement, but it's not disruptive, more of a peak than a harsh interruption. "Tanger" comes back down to Earth with the most appealing pop on the disc, foreshadowing Hosono's Happy End years with laid back tones and a distinct Buffalo Springfield vibe. The only real misstep is the cover of Bob Dylan's "Pledging My Time," where the band discards their modestly inventive psych blues for a straight reading of the tune. We've still got "The Lost Mother Land Part 2" to contend with, however, as Kosaka calmly recites an apocalyptic sounding warning, occasionally dropping into psych echo and swirling organ. Apryl Fool is most interesting as an embryonic time capsule, an enjoyable blues psych album that just so happened to be the launching pad for two of Japanese rock's most important luminaries. "The Lost Mother Land" ratchets up the intrigue considerably, however, although it's a bit frustrating that neither musician followed up on its more exploratory elements (Yanagida's involvement with Love Live Life +1 notwithstanding.) It's a vital piece of the Japanese rock puzzle, never less than interesting and occasionally mindblowing. |