Nice

Author / Creator

Puffy (Musical group)

Available as

Physical

Summary

NICE is the first Puffy AmiYumi album produced in its entirety by long-time collaborator and pal Andy Sturmer, who recorded it with singers Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura in Los Angeles and Tokyo. Th...

NICE is the first Puffy AmiYumi album produced in its entirety by long-time collaborator and pal Andy Sturmer, who recorded it with singers Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura in Los Angeles and Tokyo. The U.S.-based producer, former Jellyfish drummer and overall power-pop whiz had worked with Puffy AmiYumi on many previous tracks, most notably their first foray into English-language material, "Love So Pure," the giddily romantic lead-off cut from their 2002 Bar/None album, An Illustrated History. There's definitely more English on NICE., but language has never really been a problem for the duo and their fans. As a writer for Amplifier put it last year, "Puffy AmiYumi proves that sheer fun transcends the language barrier." Just listen to "Tokyo Nights," which features Ami and Yumi quick-cutting between their native tongue and the western words they're still earnestly studying. The rapid-fire patter reflects an instrumental arrangement that morphs from Buggles-period new wave to Bee Gees-era disco, with a few seventies arena rock flourishes thrown in for good measure - all in about three minutes. You not sure if you should be thrusting your arms in the air Travolta-style or waving a cigarette lighter at your CD player. What the hell-just do both. With songs as freewheeling as these, anything goes-- Michael Hill

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