REVIEW: Sadie - COLD BLOOD (2011)

Sadie - COLD BLOOD (Regular edition)
30/03/2011

Sadie are devils. I couldn't tell you how easy it is to confuse title tracks because the singles they release tend to be painfully generic, and the accompanying PVs are bland at best, uncomfortable at worst. The trick, however, is that their B-sides and album tracks are more often than not actually really good. Diamonds in the rough if you will. And this is why, after shunning the last four singles, I bought in their new album to see what else they could provide. Good move, Break, good move.

慟哭 (doukoku) is an interesting and effective way to open an album, slow and quite deep, strong and positive words in a dark composition. It is very promising, and it somehow helps to take the over-familiar edge off Juggernaut that follows. Originally released in December 2010 this carries the aforementioned samey Sadie feel, but thrown so early into the mix, after the epic intro track, I can actually forgive it. A deep breath and a mini-Mao-roar brings us into LOOSING MY WAY OF THE PROUD, which is a short and fast-paced flashback to something they might have released as a B-side several years ago. Good times indeed.

砂漠のシンドローム (sabaku no syndrome) is somewhat weaker but carries some great melody in the pre-choruses, but isn't enough to distract us from the irritating familiarity of 棘-toge-, another single released last November. Maybe it's Mao's voice, maybe it's the more upbeat and happy tunes, I don't know, I just don't have patience for their title tracks anymore. deathtopia REALLY reminds me of a previous B-side - in a good way - and sounds more like a track from their 2006 THE SUICIDE MACHINE, but only succeeds in restoring the mind from the previous track as much as a zombie succeeds in dragging a crushed and mangled foot - slow, heavy, dragging along dead weight. Its efforts are crushed again by another single track, this time April 2010's ドレス (dress), whose opening piano notes try to tell you that it's going to be something different when really it's not. However, this just preludes a final run of greatness.



Graceful Angel is where the album-zombie finally stops dragging it's useless ex-limb and just hacks it off at the nearest useable joint, not outstanding per sé but good preparation for the sheer brilliance that is 霞に消える華 (kasumi ni kieru hana) - you've gotta love any song that opens with its own chorus. Despite not being the biggest fan of Mao's voice I really do like how his highs work in this song, and how the vocal melody tumbles along with very straight-forward yet very effective guitars - this song is a great example of when Sadie don't overtry, when their guitars aren't layered, when they have no bass or drum interludes and when the vocals are contained and not overplayed, they really really work. This piece of fantasticness rolls into the completely different GIMMICK which does briefly threaten to sound like Everything Else Ever but then rescues itself with a catchy chorus that must be amazing as part of a live set.

クライモア (Cry more) rounds off our Run Of Brilliance, and this is where I bow my head in apology as this is one of the much-disapproved-of title tracks, released last September. But I'm not going to deny, with the exclusion of a very standard chorus, it is a good song. It stays in your head, everything from the floaty pre-chorus to the fantastically catchy little crash-cymbal trios, and the call-response breakdown half way through really makes the song stand out.



The album closes with 瞼の憂鬱 (mabuta no yuuutsu) which I will admit feels a little extraneous. It fits the mold of a closing track and that is all that can be said really. There's nothing wrong with it but it doesn't stand out - it fulfils its role. The regular edition of the album also feaures an unplugged version of ドレス (dress), band leaders Mao and Aki producing quite a sweet version of the song with only vocals and piano, and while it is nicely done it is no competition for the wonderful unplugged 陽炎 (kagerou) from 2009.

Despite weaker moments, the production in this album is brilliant. The order of tracks really works, and I mean really works, and at just over an hour long in total there is a lot to listen to. Something I really do like about Sadie is that you always know where all band members are in any given track - guitars never get lost in sloppy riffs, the bass is never lost behind other instruments - and this is maintained throughout the whole release. Knowing that they can produce good quality stuff like this definitely rewards the endurance of very samey singles and often cringeworthy PVs. Good work, boys, good work.

★★★★☆