Angela says...

I was pretty excited when the release date was pushed forward. So much, in fact, that I begged the promo-possessin' fool behind the counter to let me have a listen. I shouldn't have attributed the blandness to the store sound system...nor should I have rushed through the tracks, to return for purchase later. *I should have paid attention to Ms. Conscience.* *I should have paid attention to the cover, created in someone using "Photoshop for Dummies"* Why, Cibo? Why? You were fun...you loved samples...you loved food (hence, "cibo"). "SPOON" was superbly groovy the first time around...now it is a bit over-produced. As a matter of fact, so is the whole album. Last summer I caught Yuka playing with Sean on his promotional tour for "Into the Sun." There were some really great sounds coming from the band, and I had hoped that they would continue on this album. What we hear from Sean on "STEREOTYPE A" sounds like a b-side from his album...ok, so we see his influence on their sound. Fine. But where is Cibo's influence on CIBO MATTO? It is definately a 'Sean' song...good, but it just doesn't fit. It just adds to this mismash of production. The good news? They've maintained the kooky lyrics, and instrumental variety. But if you really want true Cibo sound...grab "Viva! La Woman" But Cibo, Cibo, Cibo...you're just not fun anymore. :(

Mosukuhlaah says...

Cibo Matto Goes Mainstream R&B What a disappointing, overproduced, overhyped mess. Yes, the ladies have abandoned their former trip-pop, sampled, quirky kookiness for radio friendly, very mainstream r&b blandness, replete with empty romanticized lyrics (I really miss the food references) and annoying (Shades of a Carpenters revival) backing vocals. There are only two vaguely salvagable tracks here "Sci-Fi Wasabi" (Derailed for me by an uncool Star Wars reference) and "Blue Train" (Sounds like a bad Buffalo Daughter outtake). The rest is an indistinguishable blip on the Top 50 charts. And why did they tamper with "Spoon", which was perfectly fine in its former incarnation (Perhaps to show off their improved diction)???? They're sure to make lots of money (Probably the idea)with this as the new Japanese TLC.