 The
Flower Travellin' Band have been busy. The last year has seen them rise
from the ashes of time both figuratively and literally: figuratively,
in that there's been a resurgence of interest in the band as western
record geeks discover their classic 70s material. Literally in that the
band reformed in January of this year, the
original foursome of Joe Yamanaka, Hideki Ishima, Jun Kobayashi (aka
Kozuki) and Joji Wada, plus the addition of keyboardist (and long time
band associate) Nobuhiko
Shinohara as an official member. Reunions in general are cause for both
cautious optimism and cynical concern. Will they still have the fire
that made them great? Or are they just cashing in? And what about new
material? Will they sully the memory of their legendary past?
Well, let's cut to the chase: Jrawk doesn't review bad or even mediocre records. There's too much good stuff out there to waste space on them, and if
the Flower Travellin' Band had blown it, you wouldn't be reading this.
That said, "We Are Here" is not a return to form so much as a complete
rebirth, thereby neatly sidestepping all the concerns at the end of
that last paragraph. People looking for "Satori, The Next Generation"
will be disappointed, which would be a shame. This new chapter in the
band's history reveals it to be a powerful, subtle unit that takes
equal parts psych rock, classic soul, reggae, New Orleans funk and pop,
teasing and nudging these forms into flexible, extended jams that
replace the dark apocalyptic rage of their older material with a
direct, clear eyed confidence.
"We Are Here,"
the song, isn't just the title track: it's a manifesto, a forceful
declaration of intent that leaves no question where the band stands.
"We are here / We will sing about today" Yamanaka wails, as the band
snakes its way through a laid back yet driving rock that, thanks
to Shinohara's sharp piano, brings to mind classic Traffic. In
fact, Traffic may be the closest touchstone for Flower Travellin'
Band's muscular new sound, although I can't remember Dave Mason pulling
out any guitar licks as sly or surprising as Ishima's. Whether he's
sneaking "Satori Part II" riffs into his solo on the title track, or
twisting a dark roadhouse blues through the slow burn of "Over &
Over," he never falls back on cliché.
In fact, it's this last point that is the thread that joins the Flower
Travellin' Band's past to its present. The band's 70s material was
remarkable for its ability to rock without relying on typical rock 'n'
roll forms, and FTB 2008 is made of the same stuff. The rhythm section
of Kobayashi and Wada still comes up with some strikingly unusual
foundations. "What Will You Say" has a backbeat like The Meters gone
tribal, and "dYE-jobe's" rubbery bassline pulls the band into territory
that's equal parts reggae and exotica. But the most striking thing is
still Yamanaka's voice, a controlled wail that starts in a high
register that lesser singers would save for the climax. He can still
hit the notes, and that voice is responsible for many of "We Are
Here's" peak moments.
Another new element FTB 2008 brings to the table is the slow burn. They
can be deceptively relaxed, only to boil over, whipping the seemingly
laid back elements into a clattering whirlwind of sound. The bright
instrumental break of "dYE-jobe" is a wonder, mutating the song's funky
workout into an extended improvisation that's equal parts psych and
tropicalia. There's no other band in rock that does this, and it goes a
long way towards dismissing any lingering accusations of cash in.
They're simply having too much fun.
Word has it there's another album in the future, and it should be
interesting to see how the band mines this newfound territory. They
sound thoroughly comfortable in their new skin, and fully prepared to
take on the world on their own terms. "I don't care 'bout your
yesterday / long as you're here now" Yamanaka declares in the title
track, and listeners would do well to follow his lead.
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Available at Amazon US as a download, and at Amazon Japan as a CD.
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