capsule continues to further push the limitations of the electro-house genre which they have grown so close to during their last several albums, and although this may be the case, one can certainly make clear of the progression that Nakata is aiming for. However, if More! More! More! was any indication for Nakata's ever growing fetish for manipulated stock vocals and oddly placed rappers with British accents, then good news for you! PLAYER has lots of that, almost too much at times...

With that being said, that is my main (and possibly, only) quarrel with the album. As a whole, the music itself stands as a testament that Nakata is always fairly ahead of the game, reinventing the electro-house genre as quickly as he has perfected it. For a genre of music that seems so bent on maintaining such a retro quality, it is oddly new to the ears. PLAYER is relentless in terms of hitting hard.

Nakata even occasionally strays away from the electro elements, as heard on one of my personal favorites, "I Was Wrong," with it's delicate, poetic like mood and haunting, manipulated vocals, it almost sounds like capsule clashed with dubstep artist, Burial. "Hello" seems to return back to the days before Fruits Clipper, with its cute, hip, shibuya-kei sound, and "Player" with it's grime like influences.

Despite that much of PLAYER seems to make reference to many modern American electro acts in terms of sound quality and progression, it comes off nowhere near as obnoxious or soulless as it's counterparts. To note, this is capsule's hardest record by far, but also their most ambitious and possibly most accessible as well.

-Garrett