WITH SEXY - Couleurs

WITH SEXY
Couleurs
1997/11/11

01. SLEEPLESS (MOONLIGHT)
02. RAIN COLORS
03. Distance
04. Nostalgy
05. Merry-Go-Round
06. 微笑みの約束～someday somewhere～
07. WITH YOU
08. ETERNAL DANCE
09. December White Breath
10. CALL
11. BRAND NEW KISS

Okay, let's take it back to the '90s! This band was quite active in the decade of time they were around and they did it all with love, with passion, with...sexy (wink).

I was initially quite surprised to learn that WITH SEXY formed way back in 1989, since I always thought of them as more of a mid '90s band (but you learn something new every day I guess!). I managed to get my hands on the "Scene 1" omnibus album and that's where I first heard them via the '89 original version' of their song "SEPIA". It was quite a shock reading '89 on a record otherwise filled with newcomer bands from 1998, haha! Also bittersweet to think that by the release of that compilation they were already practically disbanded. Lucky for us though, in their time they managed to pump out quite a few demotapes, a whopping five-single release campaign and a full-length to crown it all.

With "Couleurs" being the band's only full album, naturally my attention gravitates towards this release. While the singles mostly contain material reused from their early '90s demo days, the full-length comes at us with all brand-new tracks.

The sound is pretty typical of mid '90s VK, with lots of pretty guitar melodies, fun rhythmic arrangements and an overall light atmosphere. The songs tend to lean on the poppy side, bringing to mind the more 'airy' textures of major-label Nagoya kei bands of the time, but also evoking a hint of '80s beat rock catchiness. In short, if you're looking for some crazy kote-kei, this isn't the place, haha.

The compositions flow together beautifully to make a seamless whole, so it's a bit hard to name any standout tracks. Not to say that the album is repetitive, but WITH SEXY did seem to have a certain formula that they didn't deviate from, that's for sure. The track that currently occupies my mind is "Merry-Go-Round", an uptempo number with excellent clean guitars and a passionate vocal performance. Another killer one is "CALL", a subdued ballad-like tune (and you know I must be serious, 'cuz usually I dislike ballads!).

The whole release is a joy to listen to if you enjoy the softer visual kei of the '90s. The musicianship is top-notch, the vocalist can actually hold a note, and together they crafted some solid songs. Even if you don't track down their myriad of singles and demos, "Couleurs" is definitely worth your time. It's sad that this was WITH SEXY's swan song, as next year they already called it quits. Well, at least they went out with a bang!