Review Summary: Behold, the messiah of powerpop-experimental-electronica-rock is here. Besides Rolf Harris of course.
For those of you unfamilier with Cornelius, don't look down at your shoes like you've been picked last for football, because about 1POINT03% of the UK have actually heard of the guy. Why? Because according to research he changes his alias every POINT 2 seconds, so by the time i've written these two words, he's now called Fanny Of *** (just skitting kiddies, but wouldn't that be taking underground to a whole new level or what?") The fact is, the guy has never been one for appearing on SMTV live, although he did appear on NickJr's Yo Gaba Gaba, promoting his single "count 5 or 6" (which helps to teach adults in britain between the age of 18 -29 how to count from 1 to 6, which later turned out to be a major flop, since most have licked their remote control batterys to death, no pun intended.)
But for those who are in the know about Cornelius, will relate to him as Japan's answer to Beck, seeing as he is quite an experimental guy, and is not afraid to go overboard if needed, and that's just his drug taking. As far as music can go, the guy can do do pretty much anything, and does it extremely well. In fact, the production on this album is by far the best out of the 3 LP's I own (the other LP's are Humpty Dumpty goes swedish, and Steven Hawkins sings the blues.) On a more serious note though, the production is absolutly top quality, and can be fully appreciated if played through headphones, trust me on this one Sputnikers.
POINT. Quite a funny name for a disc, since I spent hours trying to prick my finger on the thing, until I realised that there may actually be a POINT if I put the thing in my stereo. I was amazed to find Cornelius's styles are very innovative. The first thing I should POINT out, is Cornelius's very sweet voice, which is quite soothing, and fits very well with his music. Even though i can't understand a bloody word he says, I am lulled by the overdubs he uses to harmonise his lovely Japanease voice, a very skilled singer indeed. But before you POINT your finger and say "I've just spilled my P*INT" (haha, now that's funny) I should talk about the superb musicianship the Corn man uses aswell.
There's a lot of synth to be heard, on every track, and it's not in your face at all, but sometimes there is mellow guitar which creates an ambient feel to most tracks, also backed up by a nice beat, (Drop, Bird watching.) Corny's lush voice doesnt sound corny at all, as he layers his compositions masterfully. Some tracks are quite heavy in comparison, not neccessarily by distorted guitars, but in terms of all the layermentation of bass and synths, giving a sort of edgy, yet compressed and driven sound (Another view point, Fly.) One patricular track (I hate hate) is Cornelius answer to spontanius electro metal, if that makes any sense, it's worth a listen, especially after getting that far into the album to be caught of guard.
The album on the whole is excellent, with a brilliant crescendo in the outro track (Nowhere.) I can't find many flaws with this record, except maybe it's not in everyones tastes, a little out there to all those who have grown up with Abba and such. Apart from that, the production has to be heard to be believed, I honestly have never heard a punchier bass guitar, or crispier drum kit in all my life, not to mention some of the songwriting skills the Apeman posseses. A very fun album indeed. Bring on the 4th monkeyman! 4.5/5
