Rating:
Genre:
Electronica
Release Date: 03/02/2001
Few bands are as aptly named as
Tomoyuki Tanaka's one-man
electro-band,
Fantastic Plastic Machine. Sounding both utterly sublime and utterly synthetic,
Tanaka's dancefloor-ready grooves are full of DJ-style slice 'n' splice action as he seamlessly mixes and matches genres like
lounge,
pop, and
disco, among others. The result is a
Japanese pop that can be as laid-back as it is danceable, as exciting as it is familiar. In fact, the only drawback to
Beautiful is that it's often
too reminiscent of
Stereolab, the
pop art pastiche of
Pizzicato Five, and
Tanaka's own 1999 release,
Luxury. On this, his third album, he doesn't break new ground so much as retrace and retool his past turf, something which should more than please his longtime fans and followers. To those not familiar with
Tanaka's style, however,
Beautiful may seem overlong and monotonous, but a good time nonetheless -- often like nights at the club themselves.
~Jimmy Draper, All Music Guide
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