release date: Nov. 13, 1981
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,66]
producer: Steve Nye, Japan
label: Virgin Records - nationality: England, UK
Track highlights: 1. "The Art of Parties" - 2. "Talking Drum" - 3. "Ghosts" (4 / 5 - 4. "Canton" - 5. "Still Life in Mobile Homes" - 7. "Sons of Pioneers" - 8. "Cantonese Boy"
5th studio album by Japan is also the band's final studio album (as Japan). With new romantic exploding in full scale in Britain, Japan, who was perhaps the first band of the genre, has taken its music elsewhere. This is still synth pop but much more art pop-founded than any of their previous releases, and the music has become slower and more experimental. Actually, it has more in common with David Sylvian's solo releases of the mid-80s than the previous releases by Japan. Sylvian has always taken a dominating part in the band but after the departure of guitarist Rob Dean, Sylvian's dominance surely hasn't decreased, although, more tracks than usual are co-written with other members of the band on this. The band now consists of David Sylvian on vocals, guitar, keyboards & keyboard programming, tapes, and cover concept, Mick Karn is credited for playing fretless bass, African flute, and dida, Richard Barbieri is credited for keyboards & keyboard programming, and tapes, and Steve Jansen for handling drums, acoustic, electronic & keyboard percussion. The album is the highest peaking studio album by Japan in the UK, as it reached number #12 on the national albums chart list.
I never found the album interesting until I rediscovered it after the new millennium. Today, I think of it as a near masterpiece, but also more like a David Sylvian solo release, and that may also have been the case and the reason as to why the band split after recording this due to disagreements about leadership in the band (other sources suggest that the actual reason to the split was an affair between Sylvian and then girlfriend of Mick Karn that led to the final split). The album doesn't contain obvious hit singles but there are no fillers and all compositions are truly delicate and almost true symbols of coolness. In 1983 the band's final album, Oil on Canvas, a live album was released; and in 1991 the Japan members from this late period rejoined under the name of Rain Tree Crow to record and release one more album.
[ allmusic.com 4,5 / 5, Smash Hits 4 / 5 stars ]
