Search - Ellegarden :: Riot on the Grill

Solid output from the Elle

Daniel Orlowitz | Philadelphia, PA | 03/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"While Riot on the Grill is J-Punk band Ellegarden's first album to be released in the US, in reality it's they're fourth full album - originaly released in April 2005, RotG was preceeded by 2004's Pepperoni Quattro, 2003's Bring Your Board!!, and 2002's Don't Trust Anyone But Us, as well as over half a dozen EPs and maxi-singles and three DVDs. Ellegarden has had several sold-out Japanese tours and is beginning their first US tour this week.



What makes the band unique, and what is ultimately their chance at success overseas, is that the sing in both English and Japanese - most songs are one or the other, while some are a fine-tuned mix. Lead vocalist and guitarist Takeshi Hosomi is fluent in English, and while there's certainly an occasional phrase that doesn't quite fit, his English lyrics will remind most listeners of New Found Glory, Simple Plan, and earlier Sum 41 recordings. His Japanese songs are much stronger as they let him explore his full range, and you can feel the emotions that go into his lyrics, even if you aren't fluent in the language.



Riot on the Grill is composed of 10 tracks totalling only half an hour, but the strength of the band is certainly apparent, as are one or two of their weaknesses. Strong English tracks include the coming-of-age Red Hot, the non-sensical but catchy TV Maniacs, and the mournful I Hate It. While there are only three Japanese songs on the album, they're also some of the best overall tracks - Rainbow (Niji) is one of the strongest songs in their library, but Missing (their 5th maxi-single) and Monster are both equally enjoyable.



The album falls flat in a couple places - Marry Me, while a personal favorite of mine, has a couple unfortunate "Engrish" portions which may turn one or two people off. BBQ Riot Song is in my opinion the weakest track on the album, an example of the band going for a more clashy sound rather than catchy melodies and harmonies. Of course, where the album fails the most is its length, as mentioned above - although most of the tracks are great, the album is still only 30 minutes long, and will leave fans of the band wanting more.



Overall, while I wouldn't call this my favorite Ellegarden album (that honor goes to either Bring Your Board or Pepperoni Quattro), it's still a great CD and will hopefully lead to future U.S. releases from the band."

Damn good album.

Y. H. Ivan Chu | Los Angeles, CA | 05/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Ellegarden is a pop punk band like Fall Out Boy, Sum 41 and Silverstein.



while most (99% maybe) CD albums today OR in the past include a few hit songs that are good.. usually around 3-5 songs.



this album by Ellegarden really is NOT one of those.

it really is so damn good that every single song on the album have the quality of a hit song.



if you're a rock music fan, then I highly recommend it.

if not, you should try it out. because this album has SOUL in it.



ps: I also recommend "Yggdrasil" by a Japanese rock band named Bump of Chicken. that's also one of those albums that is filled with great songs."

AMAZING!!!!

S. Nagashima | 04/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"ELLEGARDEN is one of the BEST band I know.

I'm Japanese so I've heard lots of music in Japan, but what I thought when I listen J-Pops, that was a kind of borring.

Their songs have really good lyrics IN ENGLISH, so maybe you can listen free from stress (of course some songs have Japanese lyrics...).

Please check'em out. After you listen, you can understand why I recomended you to have the one!!!"