The last time singer-songwriter Yoko Shibata（柴田容子）was on the byline of an article was over four years in 2022 when I wrote about her "Heartbreak House"（ハート ブレイクハウス）. And that's a pity especially on hearing this new tune by her.
Well, the "new" tune is actually an old one but it's one that I'm hearing for the first time. "Heartbreak House" was on her one-and-only February 1978 album "Tomarigi" (とまり木...Perch) but so was "Furareta Ato de" (After Getting Dumped) which was the first track of the album. I have an affinity for a clarinet-led bluesy jazz number and this one indeed fills all the checkboxes. Shibata wrote and composed "Furareta Ato de" which takes the wistful view of experiencing one of the more emotionally twisting trials of life and gives the shrug of "Hey, what can I do?". It's a nice song to shuffle off to the nearest watering hole to drink away the rest of the evening.
Rather than treating heartbreak as tragedy, the song expresses weary resignation. And, I think this Jazzy blues really does fit the mood.
ReplyDeleteHello, Brian. Yes, it's a good fit melodically although I think the resignation is also mixed in with some feeling of "There's always tomorrow".
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