Sumika(すみか)- Familia Album Thoughts(J-rock/pop)

 

Tracklist:

1.Answer
2.春風
3.Lovers
4.KOKYU
5.Someday
6.アネモネ
7.ここから見える景色
8.ピカソからの宅急便 (Instrumental)
9.MAGIC
10.アイデンティティ
11.Summer Vacation
12.まいった
13.「伝言歌」
14.Door

    Sumika is a band that I found while looking at the artists that landed in the top ten spot on the Japanese music charts a month or so ago. They formed together as a band in 2013 while also creating a sub unit band that only preformed acoustic songs. Many mini albums were released in the span of they careers until the release of their first full length album Familia. Who knows where their new found fame came from. Well, actually I have an idea of why they became so popular out of nowhere.

  Familia comes across to me as a very Genki inspired musical album. These boys are defiantly a rock band but sometimes their hard hitting tracks take a seat in on the sidelines. My first dealing with their music let me know right away that their music will give you the good feels. I just wasn't expecting their album to be so should I say, "jolly". If you don't know what Genki style is, it's a certain mood that music has to make you feel happy and Japanese people absolutely love it. Sumika caters to Japanese signature love for Genki by whipping out the keyboard, then making their electric guitars as quiet as possible.(Heck, they had acoustic guitars by this time.) Think color decorated birthday parties where Sumika is the entertainment. Upbeat dance music fills the area as Sumika makes all who listen happy. They even really lay the happiness on thick with tracks featuring chorus that repeat the same phrase over and over again hoping to dig it deep within the confines of the listener's brain. A good thing about their Genki antics is that they perform this type of style like they were born to do it. Smiling can be contagious when looking at Sumika's frontman sing in such a gleeful manner. I don't hate their choice in direction at all however, Genki music isn't always for me. I'm only a fan of Genki when there's a little hint of precision or seriousness. At times, its a little too goofy for me. My ears did perk up to some of the happy tracks though. The second track of Familia called 春風 is where I stand up out my seat to head bang. Rock tracks like this remind me of the older Japanese rock bands that dominated anime opening theme songs a decade ago. Sumika's members play guitar hard on overdrive here. You almost think that they turned into another band. I've noticed that they have maybe a few other songs that bring out the beast every once in awhile. Including their Genki free acoustic numbers.

  Vocals on Familia sound close to other bands in Japan that are popular right now. While listening to their vocalist, I think of Mr. Children, Flumpool, and a whole bunch of other J-bands. At lease they're better at singing together in harmony than a lot of other bands. Probably because they did a ton of acoustic sets during their career.


  I'll sadly, more than likely scrap most of Familia except for the tracks that appeal to me. Sumika has a good business sense for making themselves appeal to the masses in Japan. I'm honestly not a super Genki loving kind of person so rock alternative suits them better for me.