Review Summary: Bring it on.
For a band that was fortunate enough to get an entire Cartoon Network show based off of them,
Puffy AmiYumi seem to have largely (and sadly) fallen into obscurity (except perhaps outside of their native Japan). It's quite a shame considering how talented they actually are. Perhaps it's the nostalgia (and sheer love) talking, but to put it simply the duo have failed to put out a bad album at all; time and time again they've knocked it out of the park with each passing release, and
Bring It! sees them craft a solid pop punk album that brings their strengths to the forefront and minimizes the few flaws there are.
Now free from the grasp of Cartoon Network (
Bring It! dropped three years after their show's cancellation), they cut loose and went all out; the album is brimming from top to bottom with consistent energy that hadn't been seen since their 2003 effort
Nice, especially in album opener and first stand-out track "I Don't Wanna". The backing band has been recharged and ready to fire, and
my god do they hit the mark, and Ami and Yumi themselves bust out arguably one of the best vocal performances of their careers. Other highlights include the much more laid back "Bye Bye", which is a throwback to their earlier days with modernized production; lead single "All Because Of You" sees the two throw in some emo-pop flair and hit a
massive home run where most others have failed, and near-title track "Bring It On" is more or less a metaphorical declaration that things will be on their terms now. Everything falls into place flawlessly. They've nailed the hooks, structures and formula, and it results in an incredibly cohesive set of tracks; perhaps the most cohesive and consistent in their entire discography. The melodies are picture perfect each and every time, the bassline game has been upped like crazy, perhaps to take advantage of the incredibly well done mixing job (more on that later), and the drums provide a solid backbone that compliments the remainder of the rhythm section very well. Whenever synths are called for (especially when it comes to "Shuen No Onna", "Anata To Watashi", "All Because Of You"'s verses and closer "Wedding Bell"), they manage to fit in spectacularly and not feel totally intrusive and unnecessary, enhancing the overall experience rather than hindering it.
For a Butch Walker production, he surprisingly managed not to completely screw
Bring It! bar a very small amount of compression overkill that really doesn't hurt the album in the long run; the guitars sound amazing, the bass is
completely audible (which is especially impressive for Walker), the drums are punchy without feeling overproduced and plastic, and nothing is drowned out by anything else.
Bring It! is another highly solid addition to the Puffy AmiYumi library, and very much a must listen for anyone who's a fan of this particular style of music. Bravo, girls.
