The University of Calgary Gauntlet®
  2003-11-06
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Puffy AmiYumi
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echo 37 presents Rope




  Puffy AmiYumi


Spun



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Nice
 (Click for larger image.) Nice

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Spun
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Music this unabashedly happy doesn't come around every day. Sounds of anger, depression or coldly mechanical sexuality ring forth from the mainstream to the underground. So what better way to piss them all off than by playing an album that is unapologetically euphoric from start to finish?

Nice is the latest disc from Japanese stars Puffy AmiYumi, formerly known just as Puffy until an American rapper decided his nickname du jour took precedence over their seven years of international success. And nice it is, a genre-spanning piece that ranges from the disco-pop of "Tokyo Nights" and the White Album-styled "Thank You," to the hard rocking "Urei," the ska-inflected "K2G," even a "Secret Agent Man" ripoff in "Teen Titans Theme" (the theme to the Teen Titans cartoon).

Handclaps and harmonies abound in the nearly perfect production, transforming the album from bubble-gum pop to inspired bubble-gum pop, a world of difference.

The only real misstep is the ballad "Angel of Love," and even that track isn't without its charm.

Don't be concerned that Nice will probably play itself out within a few weeks, this is the kind of disc you forget about only to rediscover again and again over the years. And don't worry that you can't understand half the lyrics, just memorize them phonetically, sing them at the top of your lungs, and annoy the hell out of the depressed indie-kids in your car.

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Reader Comments:

 Add your comment or send a letter to the editor

Posted: 2004-12-01 18:26:43
#1 - I love PuffyAMiYumi.I love their show and in fact im going to buy a different cd today 12/01/04

I hope they do a good job to stay wealty in america (not get bored and go away).

Peace

Omni


–OliverwIlliams, Lookin


Posted: 2005-03-15 14:44:09
#2 - i hate them the sing in only japanese


lauren rahner, artist


Posted: 2005-03-25 20:25:22
#3 - They sing in English too. They sing more in Japanese because they're from Japan...Lauren you friggin' retard...she must be a blonde. Thats like saying people from the US only sing English.


–Lisa


Posted: 2006-11-12 00:05:30
#4 - If you're going to declare "Angel of Love" a misstep, at least explain why for those of us not as clued in as you are. Sounds fine to me.


–Robert Claypool


Posted: 2006-11-12 00:11:46
#5 - Personally if I were to pick one song that's messed up, I'd choose, "Your love is a drug" because drugs and happiness don't really go together.


Robert Claypool


Posted: 2006-11-12 00:16:26
#6 - Oh, and Shiawase is a little on the sleepy side.


Robert Claypool


 Views expressed are those of the posters and do not necessarily reflect that of the Gauntlet.

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