Album Review: "3"

Album: 3
Artist: tricot
Label: Topshelf Records
LB Rating: 5/5

3 is the 3rd full-length studio album by Japanese rock band tricot. The album presents itself as a continuation of tricot's line of successful releases; it is also characterized by extremely unpredictable yet equally clever strong structures which the world considers as "math rock" but in the perspective of tricot, just their standard song-writing. In contrast with modern rock albums, 3 stands as a unique art piece. Although 3 seems to find its roots in prog rock or art rock, it isn't difficult to see that the album can also stand on its own, passing itself off as a completely new sound. And I gotta say, the new sound they established is just pure amazing.

Album art cover for 3 (Image source: shi-no-kakaku.com)

The core members of tricot: (from left to right) Motoko "Motifour" Kida, Ikumi "Ikkyu" Nakajima, and Hiromi "Hirohiro" Sagane. (Kinda weird for me to introduce them in a photo where they are wearing masks. Yikes.) (Image source: vice.com)

One of the most striking elements of 3 is the prominence of Ikkyu's vocal talent. In bare honesty, I am not too fond of some textures of Ikkyu's voice, e.g. the slow second verse of "18, 19". However, there are just too many dimensions of Ikkyu's singing that manifested in the album that the few I dislike is severely outweighed by those I love. She can go soft pop in one song and explosive hard rock in the other. Heck, she can do that in one song with seamless transition. Aside from genre shifts, she does these breathtaking stuff that would seem to come out of nowhere. Most notable are:

• the "mmm" around the end of the second verse of "Pork Ginger", 
• the high note in the fourth verse of "Melon Soda", 
• the grunge yell at the second chorus of "Yosoiki", 
• the final lines of "DeDeDe", and of course, 
• the Everest climbing of notes in "Sukima"

Sometimes I listen to the songs I enumerated only to hear these climactic singing of Ikkyu. Her voice is the core of these songs in my opinion, as the songs wouldn't be as great as they are without her singing.

 

This is not to discredit the talent in the other elements of their music. When I snap out of isolating the vocals and actually listen to the entirety of a song, I become immersed with its richness. There's just so many things happening in a song off the album that it's almost too difficult to keep track of everything. This is why I listen to 3 multiple times in a row: it's like a film you keep on watching because you keep missing nice details in each view. I think such richness is attained because of how the song elements refuse to settle until the song is over. The guitars, bass, and drums tirelessly dance--sometimes elegantly, sometimes recklessly.

 

One of the latest photos of tricot, with their new permanent drummer, Yusuke Yoshida. I am amazed with how he can play complex beats on drums but he looks like he's just playing with toys. Pls keep him tricot-san (Image source: sacurrent.com)

An aspect of 3 that I enjoyed serendipitously is its lyricism. I don't usually search for the English translation of Japanese songs because, well, I am lazy. Fortunately, I wasn't so lazy with 3. I developed a new layer of love for 3 when I found out that its lyricism is top-notch. They aren't so complicated and cryptic, but they work so well in pulling out introspective ideas and emotional moments out of me. In "Melon Soda", there's these lines:

The nights I was promised will no longer come. No new mornings will come either. At a dead end, breath trapped in my throat... I can't articulate it well but I can tell you're no longer here.

I find these lines so effective in  painting that feeling of accepting the loss of a lover (not necessarily) and those little steps taken in order to move forward--like perhaps, just saying that he or she is no longer here. I relate to such feeling very well, to the point of discomfort. Here are lines from "DeDeDe":

Was it a lie? The truth? I honestly would have been fine either way! Filled to brim with thoughts like this... I'm intimidated by things that don't even exist! Things seemed like they might have worked out! But I was always the one to blame.

These lines made me realize the times I spent lost in thought, regretting the could-have-beens that I either didn't take or did take but with no success. For example: Would it have worked out if I tried harder? What if I didn't try in the first place? To find your painful thoughts encapsulated nicely in a song is equal parts satisfying and depressing. Lastly, check out these lines from "Sukima":

If we never believed in the first place, there wouldn't even be a reason to doubt! Are you listening, God? Have you realized this pitfall?

Now these lines made me seriously reflect on my life. The lyrics made me cognizant of the duality of belief: on one hand, it provides for the fantastic ability to have faith on practically nothing, in hopes of something happening; in the other hand, it is the reason for the crippling feeling of doubt. These lines put me at loss. I either look at doubts as nothing more than a complement to faith or hate God for giving me the ability to believe in things only to give me doubts that eventually paralyze me. 

Man, I may overthink these but that is precisely why I love 3's lyricism. I appreciate tremendously those songs that leave an imprint not only in the ears but also in the mind. It makes me listen both for their aesthetic and their introspective effect.

Tricot in their music video for "Melon Soda". The video pulled off that everything-in-reverse-except-the-singing technique you probably have seen in a Coldplay video. Btw, Melon Soda is my favorite track off the album! (Image source: stereogum.com)

Also, if I may add, 3 made me stop shuffling songs. The order of songs in 3 are well-done. Obviously, you have to hear "pork side" right before "Pork Ginger" or else you'll miss the nice prelude the former made for the latter. Aside from that, the songs "Yosoiki", "DeDeDe", and "Sukima" should be heard in that order, in my opinion. It makes for a formidable sequence, with "Yosoiki" easing it all up with its easy-to-follow vibes, "DeDeDe" slicing through with white-hot emotions, and "Sukima" wrapping everything up with a touching finale. Finally, "Melon Soda" provides for the most appropriate last song for the album--bittersweet but hopeful.

So far I'm all positive with the album. That is not to say that it does not have its shortcomings. I feel like some tracks are weak. An example is "MUNASAWAGI"--it feels forced and choppy. "WABI-SABI" didn't sound good either. However, I think that these tracks only appear to be weak because they are surrounded by strong tracks. They're still pretty creative on their own. Maybe if they were released in an EP, they wouldn't seem unappealing. Nevertheless, these shortcomings are nothing to the heights reached by the album.

As a final point, I would like to point out how much of a different beast this album is when played live. Tricot never holds back in their performances. In fact, they are willing to give so much more. For instance, their live performance of "Melon Soda" makes me wish that they included that highly energized ending in the original track. Like holy shit, they can rock their hearts out without care of the world! (See embedded video for reference)

All in all, I think 3 is one of the best albums I've ever heard in my life. Brilliance is in all of its possible aspects. I look forward to tricot's next works, but honestly, I can't blame them if they could not best 3. For this, I give my first ever perfect 5/5 rating!

For more information about tricot, you can check out their page (if you can read Japanese) here. You can buy the digital album off Topshelf Records Bandcamp. Check out their merch here. You can buy 3 in vinyl through Amazon. They're also on twitter! Follow them @tricot_band.