Akira Mitake's "Out of Reach"

Artist: Akira Mitake (Japan)
Album: Out of Reach (1983)

This is my first time listening to any of Akira Mitake's work, who was a member of one of my favorite bands, Ippu Do. As far as I know, he was the keyboardist, violinist, synths and marimba. This time, I actually have faith in this and know who the artist is. No doubt it will be New Wave, synth-pop influenced, which I obviously adore.
So, let the fun begin with Akira Mitake's "Out of Reach".

Violation, the first track, already grabs my attention, which is great. It's like writing, you really need a hook to keep the reader (or in this case, listener) interested enough to go on. And I am interested. Score for Mitake.

The second track is Can't Touch, Even Watch. I was wondering if this was going to be a purely instrumental record, but there is indeed singing. I can't say his voice is necessarily good, but it's nice to listen to and somehow works. I was going to say "This is why he wasn't the vocalist for Ippu Do, then", but I think he might have a better voice than Masami! (Hahaha, sorry Masami.)
There definitely are a lot of similarities to Ippu Do. That rubbery bass seems to be obligitory in this sort of New Wave music, huh? I'm definitely not complaining, the bass sounds pretty neat.
The Engrish is charming, too.

Lonely Man starts with little snipits of English, which makes the little girl in me go "Aww! He's trying so hard". (cough) But enough about that.
It's kind of entrancing, in a way. It's slow and less energetic than most of Ippu Do, but it still keeps my attention.

Modern System has more energy than the last three tracks, and definitely a lot more keyboard and bass heavy than the others, which had much of Mitake's violin. Again, pretty necessary for New Wave, haha.

Circus... Every band has to have at least one circus related song (just like "Sakura", God damn), so I suppose this is Mitake's take on it. It's refreshing to hear that it doesn't have that overused merry-go-round music nearly all songs entitled "Circus" use. You know what I'm talking about.

Toyko Great Town...
(hee)
I promised I wouldn't make any more remarks about the Engrish.
(hee ha ha)
Okay, okay.
I don't have much to say about this track. I don't think I'll remember it as much as the other tracks, although around the middle of the song, it begins to pick up pace before slowing right back down. Not my favorite on this record.

The fifth track, Glass Talk, is another bass/synth heavy song. As you can tell, I have a bit of a boner for bass, to put it crudely. Again, I'm not really too impressed, it feels like the album is running out of steam by this point. But maybe that's because the only up-beat track was Modern System, and I'm burnt out on slow songs at the moment!...

Hold on Me is the sixth tra--
(ha ha ha ha!...)
Okay, it's correct English, but it just sounds funny. I'll compose myself.
I definitely like this song more than the previous two, but I still feel as if the first four tracks held up better. But, there is still one more song before the end of the album, maybe it will change my mind.

I was hoping for a more high energy song to end Out of Reach, but, alas, Mr. Junk sounds like the slowest of all the tracks!...
Nevertheless, I'm really liking it. It's very pleasing to listen to, partly because his vocals seem more up to par. Hell, at a few parts, he sounds pretty decent! (I mean that in the kindest way possible.) Technically, his voice is bad, but like I said, it's fun to listen to. I rather like it.
Mr. Junk is a good end to the album, it's a bit more contemporary compared to the six other tracks and hardly even has the New Wave influences. I might mistake it for (gasp) a normal song that would play on the radio!! Oh my.

So, that's the end.

I think I'll give it a 3 out of 5. I'd recommend it for Ippu Do fans, and maybe to New Wave/synth-pop fans, but it's hardly revolutionary or extraordinary. I enjoyed listening to it, and it is a good album, but it is nothing more than "good".