Ogre You Asshole

"フラッグ" (alternate version) (video)

BY Brock ThiessenPublished Mar 1, 2013

While Japan's Shintaro Sakamoto was lucky enough to score some North American distribution for his How to Live with a Phantom solo album in 2012, like-minded countrymen Ogre You Asshole haven't been so lucky. While the band released the stellar 100 Years After last year in Japan on VAP, no North American release is in sight. And that seems to also be the case for their newly released "rearrange album" Confidential. Thankfully, though, we can get a taste of the record via a newly revealed video for the reworked "フラッグ" (or in English, "Flag").

The song appeared in its original form on Ogre You Asshole's 2007 album アルファベータ vs. ラムダ ( Alphabeta vs Lambda), but as you can hear in the clip, the 2013 version is drastically different than the Built to Spill-indebted original. Built around the track's Krautrock-styled bassline, the alternate version plays it loose, trading the original's alt-rocking bombast for a minimalist structure revolving around a steady backbeat, some hypnotic, chant-equipped vocals, and, of all things, some killer mandolin.

As for the video itself, it was directed by Ogre frontman Deto and features an array or tripped-out visuals, where images/faces are layered atop on another to create some pretty psychedelic and ghostly effects.

You can see the new video for "フラッグ" below and check out the original at the bottom of the page.

Confidential is out now via VAP, but so far only as an import.



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