Noda Yojiro has been the vocalist and main lyricist of RADWIMPS since 2001. Donning the mantle of illion for his new solo project, he released his debut album UBU on the 25th of February in the UK and the 6th of March in Japan, with France and Germany able to get their hands on it on March 29th.
UBU is something of a departure from the material of RADWIMPS. illion has mostly left the heavier rock behind to experiment with a folk and alt rock sound. Nothing demonstrates this better than the track chosen to get the ball rolling, which was also his first single off the album. BRAIN DRAIN has a beautiful, delicate partnership between a flowing piano and sombre strings running throughout, with a drumkit only appearing on the scene three quarters of the way through. With such a pared back accompaniment the focus is on his stark vocal performance, detached at first and later becoming cutting amongst a backdrop of sharp cymbals. It's an enriching listening experience, and the perfect invitation to delve deeper into the album.
Similarly stripped back tracks are dotted around. The mostly voice- and guitar-only UN&DO is a gentle folk song with a soothing two-part vocal harmony, in which illion proves he's as capable of giving us velvety falsetto as much as the harsh rock. The waltzing DANCE introduces a bit of relaxed country to the collection. BIRDIE is incredibly easygoing to the Norah Jones degree. The slow, lilting tune, like a folk-pop lullaby, is a good choice for a final track.
There are still remnants of the RADWIMPS eccentricity that fans have come to love. The brisk BEEHIVE is packed with offbeat handclaps, sharp percussion and a mad jumble of synth effects that makes it reminiscent of RADWIMPS hit DADA, only minus the rock element. Γ is a sinister and quite unique track where the main vocal tune consists of almost solely one note. It has an unsettling mix of moody piano, extreme distortion effects, squealing synth and taiko drums to paint the bigger picture. Like most of the songs in UBU it is in English, and here is a pessimistic and introverted analysis of the world. There's the punk rock FINGER PRINT as well, which is sung with an extreme casualness. MAHOROBA is a bizarre and catchy piece of electro-pop, bringing to mind a production line in a robotics factory. Space age effects and high "alien" backing vocals create a futuristic feel, but it is set against the strict uniformity of a looping piano tune and marching beat. The music video for it adds to the surrealism, showing parts of illion's face contorting in spasms as if remote controlled.
In this project he has been able to experiment more with layers of vocal harmonies. In GASSHOW the help of others has been recruited for impressive choral harmonies, and it is certainly one of the grandest sounding tracks on the album. A traditional drum beat and acoustic instruments are garnished with a dash of synth and cut and pasted choral segments to bring it up to date. AIWAGUMA has an almost tribal quality with its prominent percussion and staccato melody. It is sung almost as a duet with himself: it is in two-part harmony throughout, making for a much fuller, ear-pleasing sound.
The Japanese release has the exclusive bonus track HIRUNO HOSHI, a hushed piano piece.
With UBU, illion really has pushed the boat out to make every track on his debut one to remember. There are touches of brilliance in the compositions, and whilst his English is not perfect his lyrics have been written with complete sincerity. You wouldn't be able to blame RADWIMPS fans for being nervous that their frontman might devote more time to creating more of this.
