Review Summary: The light you are looking for
What is the purpose of life? Are we simply abetting our reproductive duty? Or are we here to create and relish in wonder? To understand such a question is a miraculous challenge. Set adrift on life's erratic sea, beneath time's foreboding sky, the answer often eludes us. However, sometimes a work of art can enlighten us, stoking the flame of the human spirit we all share. With their debut album, Tokyo Shoegazer remind us that such an answer cannot be spoken, written, or quantified. It must be experienced.
From the very beginning, Crystallize bathes you in sonic euphoria. 299 Addiction ignites with tasteful guitar stabs and pummeling cymbals before kicking into high gear. The frantic drums, soothing bass, and bellowing riffs blend together with immaculate cohesion. This gripping instrumental is a stellar kick-off to an otherworldly experience, and leaves you desperately wanting more. Just Alright follows with big whimsical chords and soaring melodies, filling your heart with warmth as if all your troubles have melted away. Every note is brimming with passion and the hypnotic vocal harmonies build on the dreamy atmosphere. You can't help but get lost in in it. Bright continues in a more traditional shoegaze fashion, and although the influences are clear, the song never feels gratuitous or plagiaristic. The chorus is soaked in tear-jerking melody and takes you on a magnificent emotional ride.
Although the band adopts many genre tactics, Crystallize still feels remarkably unique and refreshing. The band ventures into some unconventional territory, with the vocally-dominant masterpiece Silent Lies standing out in both structure and pacing. The math rock twist of the drums in tracks like Bright and Free contrast nicely with the riffs, and add punchy flair to the overall mix. The bass seamlessly binds every element together, with a full tone that elevates the lush guitar. The guitar is also packed with emotion, panning seamlessly from punchy overdrive to heavenly cleans, and entwined beautifully with the vocals.
While the full album is gorgeous, the most astounding achievement is the fifth track, Waltz Matilda. Here we find the band dialing back the pace, with subtle guitar setting the tone. The drums and bass follow shortly behind, adding tons of depth even with such a simple groove. You can picture yourself floating down a river, staring up at the clouds, enjoying the weightlessness, then everything builds to an exuberant sonic tidal wave. It's the feeling of recovering a lost love, when you though you would never experience it again. Awash in a crescendo of sunshine, you are swallowed whole by the music's intoxicating caress. The instruments themselves grow personified, shedding tears of joy just to embrace you. The unique essence of humanity is encapsulated, with the beauty of love distilled into the experience of sound. It's a deeply arrangement that must be heard to be believed.
Crystallization describes molecules growing closer together, which couldn't be a better descriptor for this record. From the huge swells of 299 Addiction, to the slow caress of Silent Lies, to the explosive climax of Back To My Place, this is an album you'll surely want to snuggle up with. The music opens our eyes to the beautiful truth that life isn't a problem to be solved, an equation to be balanced, or a reproductive chore to be completed. It's an experience to be savored.
