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| Sputnikmusic |
 Shugo Tokumaru's debut, Night Piece, will always have significance for me even if I grow to dislike its desolate, melancholic sound, for some odd reason. This is because, before I found myself immersed within that album, I always had trouble getting really involved with records by singer/songwriters who didn't primarily sing in English. Call it ignorant if you want, but not having a proper understanding of what was being said made certain albums inaccessible to me. Night Piece was different, if only because it taught me to stop focusing on the fact that I didn't formally know what was being said, and instead attempt to focus on feeling out the emotions behind the language, to try and decipher the meaning of Tokumaru's obviously personal lyrics. The intimacy of the record also helped: the forthrightness of the vocals and the hazy, invitational feel of the production hooked me quite easily.Point is, Night Piece effectively readied me for a smorgasbord of different artists, and heavily expanded my tastes. And whatever. It also readied me for a record like Port Entropy. Without this understanding of Tokumaru's previous work, Port Entropy's exoticism would be far too off-putting and foreign; instead, its dense sound makes perfect sense when you understand that this is a culmination of a natural progression that has lasted Tokumaru's entire career. Tokumaru wisely strengthens the softening edges of Exit, which was so sweet that it rotted, without going backwards. Songs like the tender piano ballad "Linne" and the hazy, drifting "Laminate" - which combines a soft, droning acoustic ballad with a structure reminiscent of the swells and ambitions of post-rock - show an obvious growth. Other songs, like "River Low" and "Suisha", are more familiar and harken back to the folk-oriented sound of L.S.T. But Tokumaru has improved immeasurably since that record, and while these songs - as well as others like "Rum Hee" and "Malerina", which stands as Tokumaru's catchiest song yet - may have a familiar base, they are simply more enjoyable than his previous stuff. In particular, Tokumaru's noticeably sharpened skills for infectious melodies lift Port Entropy's material far past the benchmark Exit set: the easygoing and floaty songs are grounded by their driving, forthright choruses....full text |
| Onethirtybpm |
| On his fourth album, Shugo Tokumaru has created once again an abstract world space—the audio equivalent of a finely illustrated children’s book or animated film—designed for inhabitants still very much willing to engage an affinity for sounds of innocence and wonder. Unlike his earlier material, however, Tokumaru has now dropped the sounds of melancholy he presumably performed to show how difficult and taxing it was to manufacture such abstract world spaces. Port Entropy, if it can be described simply, is a celebration. Gone are the gloomy and introspective tracks lamenting the hostility of our adult reality. In their place is an album that is almost all bright colors and vibrancy. At times, this sunny outlook can be too much to bear. There are two things that a listener first coming to Shugo will recognize immediately: (1) he’s singing in Japanese and (2) there are a whole lot of instruments being played. Tokumaru is a multi-instrumentalist and part of the appeal of listening to him is knowing that he is responsible for every sound you hear. Whether Tokumaru has enlisted the help of others for this album, this reviewer knows not (there’s a distinct crispness in the instrumentation that makes me think it’s possible he has brought in others to record at least some of the album parts—but he’s a Japanese artist with no American PR company and little is known about the man, so it’s anyone’s guess). Regardless, there’s still a ton of different instruments here—literally dozens—everything from little bells to wooden blocks and toy pianos. The overall effect of this variety, when combined with Shugo’s Japanese lyrics, is an general sound of otherness; an aesthetic that is foreign and different above all else. In the past, Shugo had presented his foreignness with conditions, essentially saying that his work was different, that he was sad about his isolation from the typical and conventional, and that if you wanted to join him as an outsider then you’d have to experience with him the sadness of being an outsider. That sadness that marked much of Shugo’s first three albums is entirely absent on Port Entropy. On album standouts “Lahaha” and “Rum Hee,” Shugo’s guitar confidently leads both tracks in bouncing melodies that start quick and climax big. A bright flute and high-key piano line thrust forward on “Lahaha” as Tokumaru weaves together melodic lyrics and a strong guitar. With “Rum Hee,” Tokumaru tries his hand at a lowercase “a” anthem, belting out an infectious “Rum Hee—Rum Hee—Rum—Hee” while the many sounds of the song coalesce together around an invigorating climax. On album closer “Malerina,” Shugo shoots his voice through a processor and goes island-chic, dropping a head-nodding guitar line over a well-paced collection of percussion knocks. The album’s successes feel like victory laps; all positivity and big smiles. And because the lyrics are foreign, there’s no way to tell of Tokumaru’s intent beyond the overall mood of the sound itself. When Tokumaru scales himself back, as he does on the shuffle-footing “Suisha”, the slow parts, now sans-sadness, lose their emotional bite. Without the high-energy that’s present in his anthems and faster-pace songs, the slower tracks feel like pulse-less space fillers....full text |
| Themusicninja |
| What’s that? You feel rotten? Down in the dumps? You feel like life is caving in all around you? You don’t know where to turn? Well my buddy, my chum, my pal… I don’t blame you. But hey now, there are steps you can take toward a sunnier, happier life, and one of them is to listen to this music—these toy pianos, ukuleles, steel drums, glockenspiels, accordions, strings and more; these sugary-sweet melodies, these upbeat poly-rhythms, these playful staccato patterns and floating acoustical musings. You can, and you will, smile. You’ll smile wide; ear-to-ear, goofy-looking, shit-eating grins, that’s what you’ll have. On his latest album Japanese multi-instrumentalist Shugo Tokumaru flexes his songwriting muscles to the max, creating an endlessly fun, gloriously upbeat and optimistic album of which you won’t understand a word. Take “Lahaha,” and “Rum Hee”—a one-two punch that represents the musical equivalent of laughter itself. To listen to Port Entropy is to know Shugo Tokumaru as the sweet, sensitive, effortlessly jubilant young man he likely is. He wants you to feel better, look outside at the gorgeous spring weather, go swimming, eat an ice cream cone, and above all love your life, because it is beautiful. Read full album review at inyourspeakers.com...full text |
Shugo Tokumaru lyrics
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