Noriko Miyamoto - New Romance (1981)

Going back into the archives for Noriko Miyamoto's New Romance, one of those fun disco / funk fusion records that you can never really forget.

I wish I could tell you some information on who Miyamoto is, what sort of work she did, what sort of influences she had, etc. Sadly I haven't been able to find much on that front; all I know is that she released a (great) album with Isao Suzuki (Japanese bassist, worked with lots of American legends) 2 years before this called Push. (Check it out!) That's alright, it lets us focus on what's important here - the music!

Go ahead and forget about what you think you're going to hear. When most people think of disco I'm sure they imagine a sharp bass line, cheesy female vocals, lots of synths, rhythm guitars, etc, etc. There are moments of that on here but there's also plenty of breathtaking, spacey moments that stand out. Let it surprise you.

That being said, it's kind of a shame this album begins with the milquetoast "Somewhere Over The Rainbow / Wizard of Oz". It's an unoriginal tune that is arranged with Miyamoto echoing behind dated 80's synths and exploratory, often spacey strings and does absolutely nothing crazy... until it transitions into the dangerously slick "After You've Gone" right after. (Considering the age of this album, smooth fade-ins like that are impressive to me!) On this track Miyamoto hits a nice groove as she sings with daring energy over a much livelier accompaniment, something that sounds like it could be the main single for an old James Bond film or something cool like that. You'll still find those cheesy synths behind her, but there's also a very competent band keeping things moving.

Really, though the synthesizers are very noticeable and very artificial, they do manage to impress with some daring key changes and melodies explored in the background. That quirky synth break in the middle of "After You've Gone" is genuinely fun to listen to, even for a Grinch like myself, and the way they lead into the hypnagogic "Arrows and Eyes" is legitimately flawless.

The more I listen to this record, the less I feel it can be as cleanly removed from the time period it was released in. Just look at Miyamoto's hair! There's just no way to listen to tracks like "Under the Rainbow" or "24 Hour Love" and not feel like you've been transported 40 years into the past. (Also, wtf, the 80s were 40 years ago now? Holy shit?) It's honestly fun, refreshing, and all the elements involved are so polished and imaginative that it's difficult to really consider this a flaw of the album.

Consider the title track. "New Romance" - both the song and the record as a whole - is futuristic, or at least what must have sounded futuristic in the 80s. A confident bass beats along beneath Miyamoto teasing and declaring that she's fed up with the old and the boring; much like "Cadillac Woman" in her better known album Push that released a few years before this one, she works really well when she sounds strong, powerful, in full control of her fate and her heart.

You've got no choice but to listen along, enthralled, taken along for a ride by the twists and turns of the scornful instrumentation. The bass makes you want to step along to the beat, and the synth coldly condemns you as Miyamoto nibbles on your ears with a catlike smile. It all fits the sharp image of a charismatic diva that she's built upon until this point in her career - the femme fatale that proudly boasts all her album covers, eyes open and heart locked...

...until the next song fades in. 

"Arrows and Eyes" is the highlight of the entire album for me, the sound at the heart of New Romance and the saving grace that gives this album a smart, introspective side. We hear immediately Miyamoto singing deeper and lower than the song previous, and with much less energy; compared to "New Romance" and its anthemic sound, "Arrows and Eyes" is reluctant, isolated, yet wistful and melancholy with its mystical synths and achingly delicate sections between the verses. This is the song of the Miyamoto we see on this album cover, supine with eyes closed, vulnerable yet still seductive and painfully beautiful; mature, even elegant.

There is soul in this album. "Zebra" and "白い砂の恋人" follow "Arrows and Eyes", and they keep the funk rolling with new (and equally haunted) touches on the groovy jazz-fusion sound established on the record. It's really a delight to hear so many different genres and styles mixing together in one package, and something about the feeling behind it all just keeps bringing me back for another listen. I read someone on a blog somewhere say this feels like an oldschool Philly sound in all of her works, and I... can see it, believe it or not!

It's clear from Miyamoto's image and sound that she was very strongly influenced by Black American funk and soul singers, and for the most part she's harnessed those influences into some fun music that genuinely takes me aback, often. There's so little I can find online about this woman, besides the fact that she went by "Mimi" and worked with members of funk group Graham Central Station, but maybe... it's better that way? Instead of prescribing the quirks of this album to some (likely apocryphal) biography I find on a blog somewhere, listening to this blind lets you listen as Miyamoto likely intended. She makes a name for herself here, expressing herself as a complex and powerful and nuanced woman, all while making your head bounce and your feet tap, just as it did for others on a dark Japanese disco floor some 40 years ago. Isn't that how it's supposed to be?

DREAM...