Head Phones President - Vacancy

By Jinx_Gemini

Artist: Head Phones President
Release Date: 11/23/2005
Type: Mini Album

My Rating

Music 9/10
Clean Vocals 9/10
Harsh Vocals 10/10 Lyrics 10/10
Songs 9/10

Overview

It’s been awhile since this album came out, but it sounds like it came hot from the press yesterday.

Anza has been part of the music scene in one way or another since she was a youngster and her performance is close to impeccable. Even though you might not grasp everything she wants to communicate, you can be sure she knows what she’s doing. With her stage performances reaching from various stage productions, to musicals, to singing anime theme songs�creviewing her work is rather akward for an amateur, but here goes:

Review

Since I was introduced to this band a couple of years ago, I have developed an honest liking of them. Sometimes I say that maybe they might appeal more to an "older" audience, because of the experimental turns some songs may take. Songs like "Outside" from this album might challenge you, until you really take time to sit down and listen to it. However, when you give them your fullest attention, it’s hard to forget about them. These are really established musicians and it raises the level of musical proficiency.

Track Listing

01. Vacancy
Introduction piece to set the mood.

02. Inside Starts off softly and hauntingly before exploding with heavy guitar and bass. One of the signature features of HPP’s music, in my opinion. Then it all stops and Anza’s careful voice builds up to a new top. Like all HPP songs, it’s intense. Lyrics and music are really well balanced. To me this song is very haunting, with the ups and downs in paste and loudness. With the lyrics, it’s like a journey through one of the most important things you can ask yourself, just to be ridiculed in the end, because maybe you’re afraid to face reality.

03. Snares
One of my favourite songs, because to me, nothing is better than a great guitarist and bassist hammering loose on their instruments. The drums compliments them very well. The vocalists’ soft voice builds up throughout the song, almost like telling a story, a confession of something someone realised in their life. I love it when an artist uses their voice to tell a story. Many artists use their voice to signal the attitude of the band, or what they stand for in general or just follow what their song tutor told them. But Anza, having an amazing voice, can allow herself to use it on a totally different level.

04. Just Like?
Great guitar technique leads the way into a song that sounds so honest, it’s almost haunting. Its lyrics about pain and desperation is well communicated through the vocalists’ use of her voice. Somehow the songs seems so short, and it seems to end so suddenly. But, then you realise, what needed to be said is said and the abrupt ending just makes sense.

05. Palam Ya-Da
This song bewildered me abit in the beginning. Sometimes when you start to listen to an album one song start to go over into the other and all of a sudden you’ve listened to three songs in a row without really realising it. That doesn’t happen with this album, because songs like this forces you to pay attention again. It’s totally different from the rest of the songs with the way the instruments are used. The way Anza uses her voice here makes the athmosphere almost abit eerie.

06. Groan and Smile
That eerie athmosphere is carried through to this next song. To be honest the first time I really listened to this song, hairs raised in my neck. And the lyrics, with the music makes the feeling so sad. The musical explotion towards the ends, beautifully accompanied with violin by Mizuki Mizutani, comes as a great relief. This is, in my opinion, one of the best songs on the album. You have to be a pretty good artist to pull this one off.

07. Outside
This is the longest songs on the album and maybe one of the songs that musically challenges you the most. It can come across as abit experimental, which is one of the reasons why I respect it so much. Because once again, as musician you have to be in total harmony with the others just to make it work and not make it sound "off" and false. And just when you thought it has ended it continues, there’s an artistic break in there. I quite enjoyed it when the guitar started to play again, so much more cheery this time. It rounds of the album very well.

Where Can You Buy the CD?

CD Japan

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