YOGURT-pooh: Cultured Rock

Last week, I reviewed a few albums from my favourite Japanese rock group, Smile Ranger. This week, I turn to my favourite Japanese rock album.

The year was 2002. Newspaper headlines regularly featured scandals related to tainted milk products from Japan’s dairy producers. A band with the cheeky name of YOGURT-pooh indulged in a bit of satire with the release of a CD called 乳精 (Pure Filtered Milk). The three members of the group dressed like factory workers for the jacket photos, and the cover was modelled on a popular milk carton design. Add a sunglasses wearing cow, and the packaging was complete.

Every summer, Japanese bands compete for the unofficial “best song of summer” title. As I recovered from jetlag that year, I watched the Japanese equivalent of MTV in the middle of the night, not expecting to find anything that would appeal to my finicky musical tastes. That’s when the video for "八月のエコー (August Echo)" caught my eye. The song itself featured some nice guitar-work, but the tone wasn’t the typical upbeat summer fun number. There was a sense of longing in it, a feeling that was underscored by images of children indulging in traditional Japanese summer pursuits like catching stag beetles and eating watermelon. Although I was caught up in the remembrance of summers past, I had to take a chance and skip the CD single and wait for the full length album to be released.

Was my patience ever rewarded. Over the course of eleven tracks, the band proved themselves capable of handling any song style they tried, while remaining a rock band at their core. As a welcome bonus, the CD even contained three of the band’s videos, including "August Echo." In the age before Youtube, this was a welcome bonus. As far as I know, this was YOGURT-pooh's last album in their short-lived career, but I’m hoping a guided tour through the playlist will convince you to try get your hands on it.

The CD kicks off with a great driving song, "R&R side seater," that even makes the prospect of a road trip on Japan’s congested highways sound exciting. It’s followed by a strong riff to open "青い胸騒ぎ (Blue Premonition)," the second single. The song features a couple nice tempo changes and an effective chorus. The video had some funny moments too.

"アウトサイダー (Outsider)" slows the pace a bit without lowering the interest level in the slightest. By now, it is evident that one of the band’s biggest strengths is in its song arrangements, packing a lot of variety into every song. Next up is the album’s centrepiece, "August Echo." I’ve already raved about it enough. Check it out for yourself.



"Future World" and "夏は陽炎 (Summer Haze)," aren’t the strongest tracks on the album, but neither are they throwaways, with the band giving just as much attention to the arrangements as any of the other songs. "ロマンスプロバイダ (Romance Provider)" rocks hard enough that one would be forgiven for assuming that they knew the album would need a boost after the two previous songs. It was also the first single. I’ve always particularly enjoyed the harmonies on the chorus of this one.

Even though I’ve never been a disco fan, their take on the genre in "マイナーディスコ (Minor Disco)" is so effective it makes me think that every rock group should try a similar experiment at least once. This is followed by another successful experiment with synthesized drum loops and the tropical beat of "ループ (Loop)".

"色彩の歌 (Song Hues)" is the type of song that always surprises me with how much I like it. It starts with an awkward beat, then transitions into one of the most effective choruses I’ve ever heard. It expresses a sense of longing, but of a different kind than "August Echo." Where the former is about a lost past, this one seems to be about an unreachable present. I never got around to finding out what the words meant, but it always manages to evoke that elusive feeling in me.

"セレナーデ (Serenade)" serves as a soft coda for the album. Placed anywhere else on the track list and you might wonder why they bothered to include it. Closing out such a strong album, it offers a gentle stop at the end of a highly polished set that never hides its rock roots or its heart.

Even if you’re lactose intolerant, why not try a sample and wonder what might have been if YOGURT-pooh had found an audience?