Review Summary: Just One More Kiss...
I think the first time I heard Buck-Tick, I was searching for music recommendations on some random Rate Your Music list which happened to speak very fondly of the group’s 4th album, Taboo. The brightly colored album art and the odd sounding band name had me intrigued immediately, so I quickly got a hold of the album and gave it a listen. Little did I know that day that I would be beginning my excursion into the catalogue of what would soon become one of my favorite bands.
Buck-Tick is one of those anomalies in the music industry; a band who has managed to maintain the same 5 core members for its entire 39-year (and counting) lifespan. To add to their impressive career as a band, the group has also maintained an astoundingly high quality through the years and traversed numerous styles and genres. Despite their obvious love of experimentation, they have always maintained solid songwriting skills that give many of their songs a certain pop-appeal.
Taboo is the final album of what I would consider Buck-Tick’s early ‘pop-punk-rock’ era (or what some dubbed ‘positive-punk’) and shows a complete maturation of their sound before their transition to darker, and depending on who you ask, more interesting territory than what was displayed in their blossoming years. Released at the peak of their popularity, the album went straight to number 1 on the charts and was even supported by a successful tour which had them perform at the Tokyo Dome. Fans who have only listened to their more acclaimed albums, such as Darker than Darkness (1993) and 13kai wa Gekkou (2005) may be surprised by how catchy and pop-oriented Buck-Tick used to sound by comparison. Tracks like ‘J’ and ‘Just One More Kiss’ show the band at their most playful and pop centric, the latter being particularly notable for being perhaps their most popular song, even over 30 years after its release. Its an infectiously catchy tune but doesn’t outstay its welcome or get tiresome after a couple listens and is one of the albums many highlights.
Album opener ‘Iconoclasm’ is, no pun intended, iconic, and like ‘Just One More Kiss’ has maintained its popularity over the years. The harshly executed vocals act as a compliment to the brash screeching guitars and the infectious bassline, as drummer Toll drives the song with a sharp cymbal induced beat. Immediately, the album informs the listener that this isn’t the same band that made Seventh Heaven (1988), they have truly honed their craft and conquered the sound they set out to make since their first album. Another album highlight is ‘Sex for You’, a track whose infamously dirty lyrics apparently earned it a reputation of being one of the groups most shamelessly sexual songs (they have since released several arguably even more blatantly sexual songs in the years following this album, so I beg to differ). The album hits its peak with the one-two-punch of ‘Angelic Conversation’ and ‘Silent Night’, the first of which remains one of the groups great ballads. Both tracks allow vocalist Atsushi Sakurai to fully display his intoxicating vocal abilities, as well as demonstrate early examples of his keen lyrical prowess. The solid production imbues each track with a shimmery charm, and never distract from the great songwriting or performances.
Despite not being a masterful juggernaut of an album like Kurutta Taiyou (1991), Taboo will always have a special place in my heart. Perhaps I’m biased, but how can I not be? Even after years and years of listening to Buck-Tick, there is an undeniable uniqueness and quality to their music that few bands possess. Their status as legends in the Visual-Kei scene is no joke.
