Final verdict: 10/10 ★★★★★
“This must be the ugliest piece of bread I’ve ever eaten” is the line that acts as an overture to this album, and honestly, it’s only fitting. Even if not the ugliest piece of bread you’ve ever eaten, “Technodelic” is still a pretty damn ugly one. I mean, picture this – annoying piano riffs looped over and over again, with aggressive sampled percussion laid over top, and vocals from the YMO boys, all three of which would definitely never get picked by a vocal group, to put it kindly. Hell, you don’t even need to picture it – just listen to the damn thing, and that’s precisely what you get. On paper, it’s nightmarish stuff. Wow, that makes it hard to justify my fondness for it.
Well, I suppose that to fairly evaluate music, you have to judge it for what it is. And what this album is, is an oddly threatening one. It’s uncomfortable to listen to, and I mean that in the good way. It’s cold and desolate, much like getting frostbite. Or, in case you’ve never experienced frostbite before, do you know how being overstimulated feels kind of like getting your brain sawed in half, then repeatedly poked with a screwdriver? This album captures that exact feeling, without actually evoking it. It’s weird, I know. But I think I get the vision – “Technodelic” makes the perfect soundtrack for your next existential crisis, or your next angry fit. And if that’s what you want it for, it’s perfect.
An avid existential-crisis-haver and an angry-fit-thrower myself, I listen to this album far too much, and therefore I know it like the back of my hand. So here are some remarks about it:
1) This album features minimalistic production, but it’s also very ornate in a lot of ways. I mean, just listen to those crafted-with-love basslines. Those unnecessary percussion sounds adorning every corner of this album. Takahashi singing his socks off on most songs. Why so passionate, I don’t know, but it certainly adds to the feeling of uneasiness this album inspires. It’s all around surreal.
2) I love “Stairs”. There, I said it. Sue me. The lyrics perfectly capture the despair of modern life (“ascending people, decending people”… this guy gets it), and the piano loop is so stupid, it borders on genius.
3) “Seoul Music” had me in a chokehold when I first discovered this album. I fucking love the sampled vocal tracks used as percussion. By the way, did you know that people over 46 speak Japanese?
4) Please, for the love of God, pay close attention to the bass in “Light in Darkness”. Orgasm inducing stuff. You see, this song reminds me a lot of Kraftwerk’s “Radioaktivität” – the two tracks are evocative of more or less the same atmosphere. Except “Radioaktivität” doesn’t have such a tasty bassline.
5) 体操 🗣️ 体操 🗣️ みんな元気に 🗣️ ケイレン ケイレン 🗣️ ケイレン ケイレン 🗣️
6) Man, I love “Taiso”.
7) Speaking of “Taiso”, have you watched the music video for it? I think it’s the most important piece of lore surrounding this album. Good shit.
8) I made 3 statements about “Taiso”… isn’t that cheating?
9) Shit that just made it 4.
10) “Prologue” and “Epilogue” are genius and a brilliant closing to this album, and whoever says otherwise is less-than.
This review is quickly veering into shitpost territory, time to pack it up. But before I go, “Technodelic” is my favorite YMO album and most certainly a 10/10. Cheers.
Silia 
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