More! More! More!

Album Review

More! More! More!, the 11th album (including the 2007 remix album) by Tokyo-based electronic duo capsule (apparently always written with a small "c") shows the group at its most self-assured with producer Yasutaka Nakata taking the electro sound that he seemed to have perfected on More! More! More!'s predecessor, Flash Back, and pushing it further, with the seven-minute "Jumper" and the Chemical Brothers-like "e.d.i.t." both standout dancefloor killers, and "Phantom" making a welcome change of tempo with its menacing schaffel beat replacing the more typical techno rhythms that dominate elsewhere. Sampled vocals abound throughout the album, often pushing regular vocalist Toshiko Koshijima aside entirely, as on "The Time Is Now." When Koshijima does step to the foreground, the similarities with Nakata's work as producer for idol trio Perfume are notable, with "Pleasure Ground" displaying the lingering influence of Daft Punk that informed early Perfume singles so strongly and closing track "Adventure" recalling the mid-paced near-balladry of tracks like Perfume's "Baby Cruising Love." While More! More! More! fails to noticeably improve on its predecessor, it is nevertheless the work of a group operating at the peak of its confidence, and the development into new musical areas ensures it isn't merely treading water.