The Fantastic Plastic Machine is the debut studio album by Japanese musician Fantastic Plastic Machine. It was released on October 10, 1997, by Readymade Records. The album was subsequently released in Germany on April 24, 1998, by Bungalow Records and in the United States on September 15, 1998, by Emperor Norton Records.
The album draws influence and inspiration from music styles—including baroque pop, bossa nova, beat, and Europop, as well as dance music roots.
Critical reception
Steve Huey of AllMusic described The Fantastic Plastic Machine as "a delightful, infectious album that's not only hooky as all get-out, but also rewards repeated listening", deeming it "one of the best albums to come out of the Japanese club-pop movement". In 2011, the album was included in LA Weeklys "beginner's guide" to Shibuya-kei music. Tokyo Weekender writer Ed Cunningham later cited it as a "groundbreaking" Shibuya-kei release, noting: "Some post-Shibuya-kei artists would follow in the footsteps of the guitar-driven indie pop of Flipper's Guitar, but many more significant acts, in genres such as picopop and electropop, would expand upon the electronica initiated by [Fantastic Plastic Machine]."
Track listing
The German LP edition (total length: 45:25) follows the track order of the original Japanese edition, but substitutes "Fantastic Plastic World" with "Fantastic Plastic World (Voice 'n' Baroque)" and omits "Allen Ginsberg".