3 out of 5

Label: PPR

Produced by: 八十八ヶ所巡礼

A slick cross-section of punk, funk-metal – think RHCP, Orange 9mm – some post-grunge radio rock, and a sound I kind of associate with guitar-based j-pop / j-rock, which is loud, and busy, and interestingly a lot more technically complex than American / UK pop or rock. Maybe from that stew of styles, you can infer that I have trouble identifying 八十八ヶ所巡礼 “exact” sound, and as I often circle around to when that happens, it’s not that a band needs to have a set genre, but there is some thin membrane between being mellifluous in one’s approach and having a recognizable identity – something that tells you how this band is different from another, or unique. More than a decade and at least full albums into their career by the time of 幻魔大祭, 八十八ヶ所巡礼 aren’t necessarily struggling with a lacking identity, as マーガレット廣井’s shredding vocals and roving bass playing style and 賢三’s on-a-dime drumming are pretty instantly notable, but I find that they hit their mark when leaning into speed and volume, with some of the more directly poppy influences feeling like contractual filler to an extent – i.e. we need a softer, or more directly catchy song here.

幻魔大祭’s runtime is split almost exactly in half between this stuff, making for a wholly solid EP of material, and then half a record of more casual and predictable stuff. None of the tracks are without merit or hooks, and even those that feel a bit cookie cutter can have some breakout moments, but they’re ultimately pretty easy to tune out, and vibing with my identity blabber above, more likely to be confused with some other band playing in that vein.

But: for the disc’s first four or five tracks, the Super Junky Monkey style of weird-funk, blended with unbelievably sharp instrumental skills and a good balance of singalong choruses plus stereo-blasting riffage, hits directly, and definitely reminds me of why my youtube tour of several of the group’s singles had me intrigued. And within that, you get some balance of some slightly slower tracks with clean guitar and singing, but that’s bookended by more aggressive stuff that makes it land. For the last half of the disc, though, it’s a stream of this lighter fare together, allowing the spell of the opening to somewhat drift away.