Hiyori Hime Single Review

Well, finally - I've managed to work around my region 2 DVD playing issues temporarily, though not without some inconvenience. So I can now bring you my review of PUFFY's latest single, written and produced by the iconic Shiina Ringo.

The CD
Track listing:
1. Hiyori Hime
2. DOKI DOKI
3. My Story (variation by agraph)

Here it is in a nutshell: the mix is wrong. I realize I'm starting to sound like a broken record with this - I've had the same reaction to several of their recent singles. It may seem strange to damn a song because of the mix, but it's like a film that's poorly edited or a meal that's badly seasoned. It's not something a lot of people consciously think about, but it can ruin a song.

I've listened to "Hiyori Hime" a bunch of times now, and I really don't think it's badly composed or even badly performed. It doesn't sound like a prototypical PUFFY song, but with Shiina Ringo writing and producing, I doubt many people expected it to. It sounds like it could be a legitimate Shiina Ringo track on one of her own albums, if you imagine her voice and a different mix.

But it just sounds weak, in a way that Shiina Ringo's own songs don't - at least not her solo stuff, and not the songs I've heard. I don't think she's at fault here even given her producer credit. Her songs are often constructed in such a way that there's barely a thread holding them together, but they do hold. In "Hiyori Hime", that thread is missing, and it's not only Shiina Ringo's voice. The guitars are buried and thin in tone, there is no analog overdrive, no rawness, no nastiness. And that's what a song like this needs. (And yeah, part of it may be the vocals too - I'm not sure their vocal style really fits.)

I think the first time I brought up the mix on a PUFFY release was in my review of "Kuchibiru Motion", which I thought was a little too vocal-heavy and also a little weak. The DVD that ships with the limited edition "Hiyori Hime" CD has the first live performance I've seen of "Kuchibiru Motion", and it is much harder in exactly the way that I had thought the recorded version should be. Somebody somewhere in PUFFY-ville these days seems to be neutering their singles, probably in a misguided attempt at mass market appeal. (I say misguided because such cold calculation rarely works outside of straight pop music.) If you start with the premise that a rock band is in its natural state in a live setting (and I think anybody who has seen PUFFY live would agree with this), then these songs are just not being mixed properly in the studio given how much better they sound played live.

I'm probably at risk of sounding like I'm just taking them too seriously. But when I have a problem with anything they do, it's almost always because I think they - meaning the girls and really all of the musicians they've ever worked with - are a lot more talented than they're given credit for by their record label and management. Part of this is no doubt Japan's patriarchal society, although Shiina Ringo managed to overcome that to some degree. But PUFFY are not a disposable pop band, as 13 years of longevity should have proven by now. They should be taken seriously, and they still often aren't. And I'm annoyed when I feel like that's the case even within their own organization. It's a disservice to both the girls and their fans.

Ah, as for the B-sides... they're both just kind of ridiculous. I understand that "DOKI DOKI" is meant to be cute, and again at the risk of sounding like a guy without any sense of humor, I just don't think this is really where they are right now musically. Their voices have both matured from those early years when a song like this might have been a better fit. It comes off sounding more like children's music than kitsch, which is probably more what it would have sounded like 10 years ago (think "V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N").

The remix of "My Story" really doesn't even bear much mention. This is one of those "remixes" where it's like the instrumentals were written for a completely different song, then put together with a melody in hopes of achieving a "you got your chocolate in my peanut butter!" moment. Didn't happen here.

The PV for Hiyori Hime once more - love the video, but judge for yourself about the song.



The DVD
Track listing:
1. Kuchibiru Motion
2. Hataraku Otoko
3. Jet Police
4. Asia no Junshin

This is more like it. I'm still addicted to PUFFY live. Honestly, I was never a bigger fan of theirs than I was right after seeing them in person in 2005. (And the longer they stay away, the more I unfortunately forget that feeling.) Their records, while usually really good, just can't compare to their live performances. On stage is where they belong. They are performers.

This is volume 3 of the 2007 show at Shibuya AX, the previous two of course being included with the "All Because of You" and "My Story" limited edition singles. The four songs they perform are not really my favorites - two newish ones that I'm not a huge fan of on the CD's, including one cover, and two old songs that are necessary staples of any of their concerts but which I've just seen countless times already. Still, I can't help but crack a smile as soon as they launch into "Kuchibiru Motion", and it doesn't leave my face until the end of the encore.

As I mentioned, "Kuchibiru Motion" is actually more than passable live. I like it. The heavier guitars make all the difference. "Hataraku Otoko" also sounds better here than I've ever heard them sing it. This is one of those songs where I've suspected auto-tune use on the studio recording, because they can never quite hold those notes in the chorus properly when singing it live. But they do here.

"Jet Police" is of course always their opportunity to switch sides and give the audience a tiny bit of solo love at their shows. It's always fun to watch, and especially here as they bump into each other.

And as is customary now, they close the show with "Asia no Junshin" (while wearing their tour shirts), which they've performed so many times over the years now that it's down to a science. When I saw them in 2005, the entire building was jumping during the chorus of this song, even without much of the audience knowing its history in PUFFY lore. I can only imagine what it must be like being in a Japanese crowd.

I'll say one thing too: their band on this tour absolutely rocks. It was a new band for them, and not a permanent one, but these guys are balls out. I'm not sure anymore who they played with on the "All Because of Live" tour in 2008, but this is honestly no step down from the band they had through most of their history, and I hope they play with them again.

I do hope we get the gaps filled in at some point and get the other songs we're missing from this show on another DVD (list at that link). Even if they released it as a separate purchase, I'd buy the whole thing again.

Final grades:

CD
Music: C+
Performance: B
Production: D

DVD
Music: B+
Performance: A
Production: A