To depart from my usual drabble, today I’ll be writing about Plastic Tree. It’s not often I find myself thinking about them, despite their consistent presence on my favorites list. Two Pura fans meeting and talking is a beautiful thing, and after talking to Jenelle at length two weeks ago, I was convinced to listen to them again (for a week straight). I have been at times, wowed and disappointed (at the same time) in Plastic Tree. They still, after all these years, have so much promise.
I think that is the hardest thing for a Plastic Tree fan. To know that everything they do still has that feeling of “if they just…”. This is not to say that Pura sounds unprofessional, but rather a mark of their temperament. Plastic Tree adjusting themselves to suit my preferences of their music would not suit me at all. I love them for their faults, quirks, and yes, Ryutaro’s pitchy voice. They suit me as they are because of their promise and that awkward underdog feeling I get from them. And the of course remark, is that I often blindly love their music.
They don’t have to be underdogs either — they definitely chose this status. Songs like Ghost and Kuuchuu Buranko prove that they can have mainstream appeal and create amazing rock music. But if they did this consistently, they wouldn’t be Plastic Tree. Consistence is not one of their strong points. Plastic Tree fans appear to love imperfections. Ryutaro is the most pitchy vocalist I’ve ever listened to (much less liked), their music practically whines when it’s played, and while melancholy is a great occasional theme; I can’t recall one happy Pura song (that I’ve heard).
So then the question is; waht exactly makes Plastic Tree so special to their fans?
My answer: Ryutaro’s ‘zetsubou’ attitude. :) Actually, it’s a bit more complicated than that. While Ryutaro may have some issues with pitch, he also has a fantastic voice which has an etheral quailty to it. He’s also a good musician (Did I mention he plasy guitar?). Tadashi and Akira write AMAZING music that really gets to the heart of their sound (Ryu does too btw). And of course, Pura’s got their own sound and they know who they are. They sound like no one else in the visual kei scene, which is truly an accomplishment. And that general theme, they just keep drilling it home with every record. This is what Pura fans love about them, the whole package.
Songs by Pura that I recommend:
-Ghost from シャンデリア (chandelier)
-スピカ (spica) from ネギトポシ (negi to posi)
-散りユク僕ラ (chiriyuku bokura) from 散りユク僕ラ (chiriyuku bokura)*
-ツメタイヒカリ(tsumetai hikari) from Cut
-春先センチメンタル(harusaki sentimental) from Cell.
-トレモロ (tremolo)from Parade
Miki
*this is the song that made me fall in love with their music.
