(2021) Kan Mikami - I'm the Only One Around (1991, Remastered)
Review:
As Black Editions unearths more albums from the P.S.F. Records catalog, it is becoming apparent just how wide a swathe that P.S.F. cut through the Japanese underground during its decades-long existence. Looking at it on a smaller scale, 2019’s Tokyo Flashback – Psychedelic Speed Freaks compilation features a staggering 22 of the label’s artists across many genres. The acid rock maelstrom that is Acid Mothers Temple sits next to the blistering free guitar of Marginal Consort’s Kazuo Imai; the expressive vocals of Keiko Higuchi are juxtaposed against the Velvets-inspired meandering of White Heaven. This is but a single example. Black Editions celebrates the diverse curatorial spirit of P.S.F. with each LP reissued. In 1991, P.S.F. released I’m the Only One Around, their first from folk-blues musician Kan Mikami, who had been successful previously in the 1970s but whose stature had since waned. The world had changed: a new socio-political climate was brewing, and Mikami was appealing to a new generation of potential fans. As he describes in his book A Life in Folk, Mikami pivoted and began focusing on “the sound inside the words” rather than looking for “the meaning inside the words.” With this change in outlook, he entered a new, highly fruitful period in his career. He released eight albums in ten years, all with P.S.F. Mikami uses only his gravelly voice and a naked electric guitar to deliver these songs, which appear to revel in strife. The lyrics, littered with slang, deal with subjects as diverse as terrorist plots (“Shinanomachi Sisters”), familial relations (“Emperor of Half the Globe”), and picking up women (“Dance, Flower Hat!”). Or, if Hiroyuki Itsuki’s liner notes are accurate, the songs mean something altogether more arcane. Either way, Mikami delivers them with a tremendous amount of passion. At times he’s quiet and sombre, and at others he barks in anger. With but a bare electric guitar, Mikami punctuates his already highly charged songs with even more emotion. He strums out a morse code call for help between the verses of “Shinanomachi Sisters,” as if he’s the intended victim of the titular women’s crimes. Mournful chords rumble beneath his dejected growl on “Cow and Long Hair.” Traces of Americana can be heard in “Movie Number 69,” while “Black Point Hirano” is deeply rooted in the blues. Mikami is attuned to how a stripped-down setup can deeply affect the listener and uses this to add gravitas to the songs. — dusted
Track Listing:
1.I'm the Only One Around 03:57
2.Black Point Hirano 02:44
3.Shinanomachi Sisters 03:06
4.Emperor of Half the Globe 03:29
5.Up the Chimney 03:17
6.Cow and Long Hair 05:23
7.A Kerosene Stove for Two 02:53
8.Dance, Flower Hat! 07:35
9.In Front of Hachiko 04:10
10.Movie Number 69 02:08
Media Report:
Genre: alternative folk, blues
Country: Japan
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits