After the release of the indispensable solo work of Takahiro Kido, here comes Anoice's Out of Season, a project under the terrible pressure of topping 2006's Remmings. Out of Season takes on the dreaded role of the album that comes after the fantastic debut, the one which can supposedly affirm or end the presence of a band. By now firmly implanted in the minds of obscure music listeners, the six members of Anoice make neo-classical music that flirts with the boundaries of experimentation and ambience. If you're put off by the ever-increasing amount of technical terms and genre names and are more attached to emotions and feelings, consider that Anoice makes music that moves you.

In structure, Out of Season does resemble its predecessor, as it is composed of four very melodic songs surrounded by smaller segments that focus on experimentation. While the record as a whole is less accessible, and sees the band dare to wander off of the beaten path more openly, it still revolves around the same formula: Anoice's music is so beautiful that each note is as a still from a movie projected onto your closed eyelids. The comparison to great film scorers is an obvious one: where "Glitch" reminds of Max Richter's best pieces, the opening of "Short Film" has the passion of a sonata by Michael Nyman. Anoice's favorite pastime is to make you travel to places you haven't been, or put you in situations you haven't experienced, through their music. In "ID," you find yourself hiking through plains that extend as far as the eye can see. "Short Film" lays you on a bed of sakura petals, in the midst of an afternoon in Kyoto's spring.

Yes, the feeling of Remmings is still there. Nonetheless, the means have changed. Remmings rocked, Out of Season gently pitches forwards and backwards. The bass that grooved so often in the past now hums, the piano oscillates between loud melodies and low, caressing backgrounds. The drums are less heard, yet more present. The sound is liberating to the listener because you can feel that the musicians made the conscious decision to be more free in their song-writing.

Unfortunately, this venture into mixing both sides of their music takes a lot of strength out of the experimental glimpses that seperate each "big" track. Once again, it feels a bit like these tracks are only filler material, and it hits even harder when the experimentation is done just as well in the core of their majestic pieces.

Freedom, especially in music, paradoxically needs to be channeled for the listener to feel the same pleasure the artist did when he wrote and recorded his creations. It asks for the utmost precision, for more concentration. Bottom line, it is more time and effort-consuming than a more restricted approach. But when it's done well, nothing can top its creativity. If the members of Anoice hadn't already nearly proved to be capable of such an accomplishment, I would just say that Out of Season is a excellent album. In the present situation, I feel compelled to say that this is an album that, had it been given more thought and more polish, would have been capable of reaching greater heights. Maybe Takahiro Kido and his pals, having spent most of last year writing and performing for side-projects, have lost focus on their main band and it somehow damaged this new album, making it only excellent when it could have been truly amazing. Then again, if you've listened to Fleursy Music, you'll side with me when I say that it's a loss I'm willing to take.

= Samy Bennaoui - The Silent Ballet

One of Japan's premiere instrumental acts, Anoice stunned The Silent Ballet staff in 2006 with its debut release, Remmings. Two years later Out of Season is feeding our hunger for new Anoice material, but it comes with a bit of a surprise. What was previously a balanced mix of post-rock and neo-classical genres has veered into experimental territory. The new album sheds the conservative sounds of its predecessor and fully embraces the compositional oddities of its members, allowing them to be fully expressive and Out of Season greatly benefits as a result. While neo-classical music is currently getting a lot of attention this year, no one has produced a work as distinctive as Anoice, who continually prove to be on top of the genre.

= The Silent Ballet

With guitars, bass, viola, keyboards and drums, the six Anoice succeed to create incredible atmospheres between Sigur Ros, Arvo part and Rachel's.

= Rockerilla

Even when all of them are going at it hammer and tongs they act more like an orchestra with each player adding their own element to the melody. Anoice hit all the blissful and joyous emotions and only rarely dip into melancholy like most bands of the same ilk.

= Brainwashed

Anoice have produced something entirely different and original, a mature record of great beauty and attention to detail that rises above any clichés and should by all accounts establish them as one of the leading artists today.

= Rockarolla

Anoice is a Tokyo based six piece group formed by Takahiro Kido, Taku Tanioka, Yuki Murata, Utaka Fujiwara, Takahiro Matsue and Tadashi Yoshikawa who are the multi instruments players, and have been working together since 2004. Their debut album “Remmings” in which Non-Format took charge of art works, was released from Important Records, Boston 2006, while their second album “Out of Season” and third “Ruined-Hotel Sessions” recorded at the ruin hotel, were released from Ricco Label that is their own music label in Tokyo, 2008. Many artists all over the world thought highly of these three albums. Anoice also has some other projects such as RiLF (an alternative rock band formed by the members of Anoice and Calu who is the vocalist of Matryoshka), mokyow (a post-rock band formed by Takahiro Kido, Takahiro Matsue and Tadashi Yoshikawa who are the members of anoice, and the keyboardist Kenichi Kai) and cru (a neo-classical unit formed by Takahiro Kido and Yuki Murata), and some secret projects. And, Takahiro Kido and Yuki Murata who are the members of Anoice, have also released some albums as their solo works. There is the 30 or more number of the albums which Anoice and the members have released or the compilation albums in which they participated on some music labels such as Ricco Label, Important Records, PLOP, Nature Bliss, p*dis, Noble Label, Victor Records, zooooo.jp, as a point of the end of 2012. In addition, Anoice and the members took charge of composing music for many video works (Armani, Louis Vuitton, Rag & Bone, etc.), films ("Internet is a Desert" a prize film of Venice International Short Film Festival, "Honokaa-Boy" in Japan, "Penerose" in Austria, etc.), events ("NIPPON VISION" of Japanese department store Isetan, "Tanzbrucke 2011" a ballet of Czech Republic, etc.), spots for TV or webs (Google, NTT, TRIUMPH, Saito Wood, etc.) of various countries, and joined some films ("Takarasagashi" directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli, etc.), events (Moscow International Biennale, "La Folle Journée au JAPON" classical music festival in Japan, "Argerich's Meeting Point in Beppu" in Japan, etc.), art magazines ("Purple Magazine" in France, "Another" in Netherlands, "POST" in UK, "GONZO" in Belgium, etc.), albums of musicians (Filmes, Michiru, Pleq, Kukikodan, The Watanabes, Sonoda Band, etc.) as arrangers or players of tunes.

Anoice official website ▶ www.fleursy.com/anoice