Album Review: Kishi Bashi - 151a

Seattle-born Kaoru Ishibashi (Kishi Bashi) offers up 151a, a surprisingly beautiful collaboration of orchestral sounds and electronic beats, fused with indie pop. Think Animal Collective, Jinja Safari and Beirut. After just one song, it's easy to forget that every moment of musically-induced eargasm is produced by one talented multi-instrumentalist.

The album is an assortment of emotions, morphing from upbeat and go-happy in the first half of the album, to slow, more downhearted later on. 151a begins with a purely instrumental track, preparing listeners for the emotional, soaring vocals and expressive lyrics added in Manchester – a clear standout of the album. With lyrics such as “I haven't been this in love in a long time, the sun is up the sun will stay, all for the new day”, in conjunction with the powerful crescendo of the violin, you can't help but be filled with a sea of love and a sense of appreciation for life.

Tracks such as It All Begins With a Burst and Chester's Burst Over The Hamptons are incredibly catchy; they're the kind of songs that induce goosebumps while simultaneously increasing the urge to get up and dance in the street. The more melancholy songs do not lose their impact, with Beat The Bright Out of Me ending the album on a relaxed note. The more slow, downhearted songs focus more on the emotion contained in each lyric, rather than building emotion through the highs and lows of the pocket-sized orchestra exploding through the speakers.