Reviews (2) Strawberry Chips (sg.)

If by now you can feel your obsession with Halcali growing stronger by the day, then dont worry! It's only natural. Whats that? Having one of the best albums of 2003 on repeat play for an entire week isn't enough to satisfy your craving for these kids? You'll probably be reaching for the new album then. Before you do, try to pick up a copy of the Strawberry Chips single. Released last Christmas, accompanied by one of my favourite promos ever, its a wintery, daring heartbreak-up record. Not daring as in subject matter, but song structure. In these days of quick fixes and instant hooks, S.C seems to flounder on first listen, and its myriad sweet subtleties (yes, thats right) only coming into effect on the 3rd or 4th listen. By modern pop standards, its was an unbelievable choice for a single, but a gorgeous track once its had time to settle. Even stranger, thats not even the best song on the single. For that, you've got to wait until track FOUR, スラローム’03 "ゲレンデの女王" (Slalom '03: Queen of the slopes), a smooth, effortlessly hip rap, its 15 miles of fun that knocked everything you could imagine out of most of the other stuff released in the commercial J-charts that year. The two other tracks are great too, firstly the sparkling, yet oddly downbeat pop song この世界に、この両手に (In this world, in both my hands) and the bizzare robotic nod to 80's electronica 二福星 (Two lucky stars). As a companion to Halcali Bacon, I can't recommend it enough.

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