BIS階段 / BiS Kaidan (LP)

オルタナティブ・アイドル (?) BIS と、説明不要のノイズバンド・非常階段の合体プロジェクト BIS階段のアルバム『BiS Kaidan』。こちらはフランスの Specific レーベルからリリースされた輸入盤アナログ。片面のみのプレスになります。

A scream in the face of the idol industry
BiS Kaidan is the unlikely collaboration between infamous idol girl group BiS (Brand-new idol Society) and the legendary noise band Hijokaidan. As a group who're known for their criticism of Japan's idol industry, BiS have released all kinds of unconventional songs. This release sees them taking on a sound that goes even further than anything they've released in the past, full of shrill screaming and blaring feedback. Note that there is a CD and vinyl version of the album, the latter of which is reportedly mixed with 40% more noise. This review relates to the CD version.

A cover of "Suki Suki Daisuki" by the original anti-idol Togawa Jun opens the album and it's clear that BiS Kaidan are choosing to align themselves with her spirit and message, even going so far as to dress up like her for the music video. Sound-wise it's intentionally shocking, punctuated by screeching and with its chorus (sung sweetly by BiS' members) almost drowned out by Hijokaidan's noise. Noise fans will also appreciate the visual references to Hanatarash in the video.

The rest of the album is much in the same way, with Hijokaidan members playing over the top of well-loved BiS songs like "PPCC" and "primal." which gives them a harder, rougher edge. The noise is simply added to the original recordings of the songs without much other changes made, but this isn't really an issue apart from in the case of "Hide out cut". As one of BiS' most orthodox and family-friendly numbers, the melodic piano line sticks out like a sore thumb under the roaring noise. It's an odd choice for a song to undergo the Hijokaidan treatment, and might have been better replaced by something else.

"BiS_kaidan," the final track, is the most abstract on the album, being a vast collage of noise and screams with melody only coming from backmasked BiS vocals (seemingly sampled from their "BiSimulation"), which give it a distinct haunting feel. It's the loudest track on the album and tonally very different from everything else. The only real criticism I can give it is that it's rather short, but it's a dense listen that's rich in textures.

Tracklist
1 好き好き大好き 3:42 / 2 PPCC 3:37 / 3 nerve 5:03 / 4 eat it 3:25 / 5 primal. 4:54 / 6 Hide out cut 3:54 / 7 BiS_kaidan 2:51