Distance - ROUND TABLE feat. Nino
pop/ lounge pop/ bossa nova • 2008
9.0
ROUND TABLE feat. Nino (please don’t forget the Nino part, it’s not the same without) has long been in and out of the popular consciousness throughout the years, but i’d like to bring them back in. it was rather difficult to decide which collab album to place in rewind this week, but i decided there is only one true public choice. Distance takes what made the previous two albums APRIL (2003) and Nino (2006) so wonderful and focused them in to something a bit more emboldened. while i have much love for the other two works, i think Distance the proper place to foot the discussion. Distance revels in its musical abilities while tempering itself down through Nino’s terrific vocals. a bombastic experience spearheaded through a singular voice.
the meme says, how long has Nino been around? always has been.
for as long as i can remember in my anime fandom, through high school, i’ve found myself at, specifically, Nino’s mercy. that’s not to say ROUND TABLE don’t pull their own weight here. it takes an equally weighted duo (or trio as RT is a pair effort of Katsutoshi Kitagawa and Reiko Ito) to pull off the jazzy-bossa nova euphoria so simply performed by the group. throughout my upbringing listening to music, i’ve certainly been enamored with the laid back and lovey-dovey style of the group. but it took a while to find that full fledged appreciation. i’ve bounced from anime like .hack// to Aria to Chobits to N.H.K. in my teenage years, so their sound became synonymous with a special summer-time malaise. a feeling spent over too much time with a mystical new medium called anime. i don’t think you could convince many foolhardy teens to take a moment to listen to bossa nova in any forms. it took years to find eureka. a sort of a-ha that binds age with an appreciation of slower arts. bossa nova is an old man’s game.
i find Distance to be the strongest show of ROUND TABLE feat. Nino’s efforts. there is a focused yet relaxed authorship across the album. a little harmonica here and a bit of hand drum there. it’s just another day in the life. the instrumentation is wonderfully varied and robust. my time would be better spent finding Waldo than it would counting the varieties of instrument present across the work. xylophone, theremin, maracas, triangle, piano, electric guitar, etc. its an impressive display and range. tie it together with Nino’s somewhat mysterious vocals, and the air becomes rarefied. it’s Nino specifically that makes the music worthwhile to me. her voice find a particularly unique cross-section of sweet and sexy. her voice lilts and floats along, it croons and cries, but it never breaches into annoying. i find her performance fascinating, it rides a wire-thin line with ease. as kind and gentle as it is enticing and sultry. together, the pair spend the full run-time consistently complimenting each other without any hint of hubris.
“眠れない夜 (Nemurenai Yoru / Sleepless Night)” is perhaps my favorite choice in the album. a jazzy nightcap, expressive in lavish piano and accompanying vocals. the album’s top piece. however, it’s a tough choice. “恋をしてる (Koi wo Shiteru / I’m in Love)” is a splendid opener that effectively dictates the tone and flow of the album to come. it’s a vivacious piece that really pops and soars with the help of a bursting violin and the background sparkles of piano work. for all it’s austerity Distance explores a few moments of goofiness and fun. “Oh! Yeah!! -New Year’s Mix-” is even worth attention for breaking up the album’s soft flow, for good reason, not just the sake of it. the power ballad-esque piece should feel alien, but it achieves simpatico merely by pushing its instrumentation to their natural limits. “ナガレボシ (Nagareboshi / Shooting Star)” has a funny techno-warble that playfully drifts between energetic rock and feel-good whimsy. no one track feels out of place, not too lazy, not too brazen. a common palette harmonizes each track, granting the album the ability of a unique identity without feeling too wide or narrow.
there’s a grace and a funny quirkiness across the album. a wide breadth of instrumentation and styles are demonstrative of what makes ROUND TABLE feat. Nino refreshing and identifiable. Distance delivers a competent, a strong, a complete argument for its own brand. in a wide world of lounge-pop, bossa-nova, jazz and so-on, i find that Distance only grows from its predecessors into accomplishment. there are so few albums to which i’d gladly surrender my summer evenings. while my love for their previous works sustain, i think Distance the best of their kind.
ROUND TABLE feat. Nino’s Distance, truly, is both effortless and beautiful.
written by Marcus Landeros- highlights -
恋をしてる (Koi wo Shiteru / I’m in Love)
Sunny Day
時を超えて (Toki wo Koete / Beyond Time)
眠れない夜 (Nemurenai Yoru / Sleepless Night)
普通の事 (Futsū no Koto / Ordinary Things)
宝物 (Takaramono / Treasure)
track list:
Long Distance
恋をしてる (Koi wo Shiteru / I’m in Love)
Sayonara
あたしだって同じこと思ってるよ (Atashi Datte Onaji Koto Omotteru yo / I Feel the Same Way Too)
Sunny Day
時を超えて (Toki wo Koete / Beyond Time)
眠れない夜 (Nemurenai Yoru / Sleepless Night)
茜色センチメンタル (Akaneiro Sentimental / Crimson Sentimental)
Oh! Yeah!! -New Year’s Mix-
普通の事 (Futsū no Koto / Ordinary Things)
ナガレボシ (Nagareboshi / Shooting Star)
横顔 (Yokogao / Profile)
宝物 (Takaramono / Treasure)
Long Distance -reprise-
