Fujiya & Miyaji – Ventriloquizzing

Score: 7.7/10
Yep Roc (US) / Full Time Hobby (UK)
Fujiya & Miyaji
Purchase: iTunes, Amazon

Holding true to their electronic, experimental niche, Fujiya & Miyagi have created their darkest release to date with Ventriloquizzing. Turning the art of ventriloquism into a verb, Fujiya & Miyagi have posed the question, “are we all just dummies being controlled by someone else? Who’s controlling whom?” Going as far as creating dummy doppelgangers to represent the members of the band, this band has made Ventriloquizzing a concept album that isn’t merely reserved for the ear.

Beginning with the title track, “Ventriloquizzing,” descriptions are given about people known as “you” and “we,”–the ventriloquist and the dummy. “We/have nothing up our sleeves/we can’t even breath/we move our arms when you pull our string/we move our arms when you pull a string.” These character classes set the stage for the album of story telling.  Musically, the record starts off bleak with synthetic sounds mimicking a pipe organ and strings, representing a theme song of defeat. When beats are introduced, they pop like dancing, emotionless puppets.

For the majority of the album, lyrics are focal yet inconsequential. “Sixteen Shades of Black and Blue” doesn’t expand the much past the title: “I’ll beat you black/I’ll beat you blue/eight shades of black/eight shades of blue/sixteen shades of black and blue.” Its coolness lies in the subtleties of the low bass and winding synths. One could go as far as to say that if a story was told by a dummy, a plot both basic and unassuming that deepens the context of Ventriloquizzing. However, this is the bands typical style of story telling.

Fujiya & Miyagi leave the listener in shock and awe on “Minestrone.” The music, albeit simplistic, is very playful and spunky, slinking along like a cartoon super-spy with its hat down and collar cocked. There is the light tap of a snare drum, a bass chimes in with a note or two on a 4/4 count, and a muting electric guitar is the mysterious lead. The mood is deepened with organ and shakers as the lyrics creep in. As interesting as all the backing music is, the lyrics rise to the top as the narrative of one man who offered another some minestrone soup. Verses slip in and out from narrator to character. The details, word pictures, and character setting in this song stir emotions and demand a double take.

Closing out with “Universe,” F&M get cleaver with the a capella lyrics: “You love to hear the sound of your own voice.” With sliding octaves on the bass to the unobtrusive tap of the drums fading in, backing vocals and reverb synth leave the listener with an overdose of psychedelic-cool—a nice way to finish off the record.

Fans that are into Fujiya & Miyaji’s avante-garde style of music will be dully impressed with Ventriloquizzing. Those who find the concept interesting and are looking to expand their horizons will likely be underwhelmed at first listen. The vocal style stays in micro-ranges from song to song and quickly becomes monotonous. If one has the patience to listen, it’s catchy enough have the listener remember the album a week later and give it another rewarding shot.