ALBUM REVIEW: After 5 Clash by Toshiki Kadomatsu -1984

Even though they share many musical similarities, City Pop artists tend to specialize in their own particular themes. If you want good summer-themed music, then you listen to Tatsuro Yamashita (山下達郎) or Kiyotaka Sugiyama (杉山清貴). If you want New Wave or Euro-style pop, then your best bets are Taeko Ohnuki (大貫妙子) and Yukihiro Takahashi (高橋幸宏). However, if "City Nightlife'' was its own genre of music, you can bet that Toshiki Kadomatsu (角松敏生) would be your go-to man, and his most defining record would be After 5 Clash, a disco/boogie album that would be the catalysts to help Kadomatsu define his music aesthetic

THE HISTORY

After producing some music for pop singer Anri (杏里), and releasing his 3rd album, Off Shore in 1983, Kadomatsu wanted to move away from the over-saturated market of Resort Pop that was released at the time. Wanting to explore a new direction, he took inspiration from the then-current club scene of New York and created his first 12-inch single “Do You Wanna Dance” that same year in October. A funky synth-pop disco tune with a heavier emphasis on metropolitan nightlife. His next two albums took on more of this sound, the first of which being After 5 Clash in 1984.

Some notable session musicians in this record include Hiroshi Satoh (佐藤博), and Jun Satoh (佐藤 準) both on Keyboards. There's also composer Ken Muramatsu (村松健), who handles both the piano and synthesizers. Not surprisingly, the ever-present Jake H. Concepcion appears on this record to provide his signature spicy sax solos. Some notable voices are featured on the album as well, Eiji Nakahara and R&B singer Noriko Miyamoto（宮本典子）appear in the rapping portion, (yes there is rapping although it's not as bad as you expect). Kadomatsu, Keiko Toh, the sister trio Eve, and idol singer Yurie Kokubu（国分友里恵）provided the chorus. However the MVP of this album is clearly the bassist, Tomohito Aoki (青木智仁) who's been a part of Toshiki's music since '82 and provides some of the grooviest, and most powerful slap bass ever hear on a City Pop album. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2006.

After 5 Clash was released on April 21 in 1984 meeting a moderate commercial success, peaking at No.18 on the Oricon charts before landing at No.54. Despite not being a huge chart-topper, Kadomatsu would keep the ball rolling with his new musical identity. He used the royalties he earned from producing Anri's work to travel to New York City so he can produce his next album, Gold Digger. 

THE MUSIC

1. If You...: The album starts us off with a fade-in of a very familiar guitar riff, and suddenly explodes into a bombastic disco number complete with tight horns and a catchy hook about inviting that special someone to a night of partying. It even features both an awesome saxophone solo and a punchy bass solo.
2. Midnight Girl: A laid-back synthesized yacht rock tune about a guy's encounter with a lovely woman in the back streets, who seems to be tipsy after a fun evening.
3. Airport Lady: A heart-palpitating disco song about someone's crush on a "Chestnut Haired" flight attendant at the airport. 
4. Maybe It's Love Affair: Another yacht rock-inspired track featuring an awesome synth keyboard solo.
5. Will You Wait For Me: The quintessential ballad of the album that masterfully combines mid 80's synths with a 70's R&B-inspired melody, including dramatic piano playing and a surprise guitar solo.
6. 

   Step Into The Light: We get a very deceptive kabuki drum style intro, that leads us into a funk-heavy contemporary boogie with awesome chorus work. There are even various hip-hop elements mixed in, including some very goofy but entertaining  "rapping" by Noriko Miyamoto, Eiji Nakahira & Kadomatsu himself. The song samples the 1983 single by Unique, What I Got is What You Need.
7. After 5 Crash: The (almost) title track of the LP is another bombastic dance number where Toshiki paints the scene of what the big city looks like once the sunsets and the neon lights turn on.
8. Never Touch Again: Another quintessential dance track, this time featuring some cool Zapp & Rogers style talk-box rapping at the end.   
9. 
   I Need You: Another standard ballad, but going off of the more sultry piano playing, definitely more gospel-influenced than the first one. 
10. Heart Dancing (あいらびゅ音頭):  Toshiki goes for an even bigger subversion of expectations by ending the album on a traditionally inspired ondo (folk dance) melody with a jazzy big band arrangement, that surprisingly fits together perfectly. The cherry on top is when the song fades out like a slowed-down record, then rewards the listener with the exciting explosion of fireworks.

THE VERDICT⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

After 5 Clash definitely feels like the nighttime version of Timely by Anri, which is appropriate considering both are Kadomatsu productions. So I basically feel the same way about this album that I feel about the latter; it's a really groovy album with cliché songs, but those clichés are wrapped up in such well-crafted and tight arrangements that it's really hard to care. When I listen to songs like If You..., Airport Lady, & I need You, I hear clear inspirations from Yamashita's Sparkle, Loveland Island, & Futari respectively. Although I'll give Toshiki some credit and say that this album has more of its own identity in comparison, you got his signature tight brass section, the ever-present slap bass, plus some awesome and creative synthesizer work thanks to Ken Muramatsu. You can definitely tell that Kadomatsu was paying close attention to the New York music scene in the '80s as many of the songs fit right alongside stuff by the Gap Band, Zapp, and Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam.

I think the biggest fault I can give After 5 Clash is that it overplayed its hand in literally the first song, which (minus 2 songs) gives you everything the whole album has to offer in terms of the arrangement. You can literally switch out the 1st track with After 5 Crash and it wouldn't break the flow of the album at all. Of course, that's not necessarily a bad thing, but it shows how samey some of the songs are. That's another thing, why does After 5 Clash have to share the same track space as Step Into The Light? In order to listen to it, you have to listen through Step Into the Light, which isn't a bad, song, it's one of the more stand out songs in the set despite how corny some of the rap verses are (their pretty short and brief too), but the fact that I can't enjoy either song individually is dumb.

I would say the most stand-out track to me is actually the closer, Heart Dancing, which combines traditional Japanese folk dance music with contemporary New York style big band music, to create a brand new musical experience. It also hearkens back to the type of stuff Eiichi Ohtaki would do in albums like Let's Ondo Again, and Niagara Triangle, but here it's executed to much greater effect.

As a whole, though After 5 Clash is a super fun album to listen to and probably one of the best disco records City Pop has to offer. I'd kill to hear any track from this album while I'm out at the club. Toshiki Kadomatsu made the right call by moving away from the sunny tropical beaches into the neon-lit metropolis, which helped him unlock his true potential as a producer and a musician.

*If you enjoy my content, consider supporting me through Teespring & Patreon. Thanks!