I must be a spoiled person, but the EP’s title… Don’t you find it a bit… eh, too customary? Well, perhaps that’s because it’s in English (Yokomin tends to name his songs in English as well). Some “Anata ga kibou suru tokoro” would sound alien enough to pass :)
The cover art, drawn by the expert hand of Gonmaru-san, must’ve contributed to the success substantially. See for yourselves.
I mean, look at this celestial creature of virtue and charm! Look, how subtle, and delicate, and fragile she is! And all that flowers, no, *flowers*, and crystals, and shine! Why, she’s admirable! But, guys, to put it another way, she radiates innocence at a level hazardous for the health of an average unprepared metalhead. And I kinda worried, how would this sweetie endure angry distorted guitars and bass drums’ shots?
Fear not, my friends, because the very moment Yuzuki Yukari starts singing, these idle thoughts disappear without a trace. To say ‘Yukari is awesome’ would be an understatement of this magic! The producer presents the most prominent features characteristic for this Vocaloid. Yukari’s voice is deep, potent, and mellow. It is calm, but it is hypnotizing calmness, the one that inspire awe. Yet it doesn’t mean Yukari sounds distant; she is quite open and welcoming. Well, for me it’s what makes a Vocaloid album a _good_ Vocaloid album!
Lower pitches are the most natural for Yukari, but she sounds nice at higher as well. The producer is aware of it and adjusted the range accordingly. He doesn’t use distorted vocals, though some tracks might imply it. The only possible exception is the moment in “Where Is My Voice “ (#5) when Yukari squeals. Ahh, a very appealing squeal, can’t understand why Yokomin doesn’t use it more often… :) Anyway, the producer is quite deft at working with vocals, showing a wide set of different techniques.
Namine Ritsu helps Yukari in one song, “CORE” (#4). Can’t say anything bad about the guy, but he hardly improves the experience. The Moon Rabbit outperforms him quite naturally.
As for the instrumental part of the EP, here we have music quite varying in character. The CD starts with a song that gave the name to the release, and is the only track that hasn’t been released previously on Nicovideo. The music has somewhat grunge flavor, classic 90s variety, with subtle inclusions from emo/post-hardcore. Electronic sequences play minor role, adding some lyrical tones. Yokomin builds up a very special mood within this environment, the one that mirrors Yukari’s voice profile. So the instrumentals support and enhance the quiet force, the calmness and depth of vocals. Warm and bright sound of guitars adds to the synergy. The excellent overall mixing and sound quality deserves mention too.
The following track, “Distance”, shares more or less the same atmosphere. Yet the music develops, piano takes the lead this time. Together with guitars (the acoustic piece is great) it makes this song more emotionally open and impressive. But, guys, all that cover art, and rosy stuff, and light-heartedness aside, don’t we know Yokomin for quite the other style of music?
Why, here is your ‘quite the other’. “Story In Everlasting Princess” (#3) may blend with the previous track nicely, but it shows its character rather quickly. It features faster tempo, bursts of bass drums and intense synthetic injections. The deeper drop of guitars’ tuning is evident. Unlike previous tracks where guitar riffs are pretty simple, “Story…” has got more technical and engaging lead guitar line. All that makes pretty decent synthcore sound, of lighter variety. Yukari? She makes a stark contrast with instrumentals, and that turn is definitely more favorable for her. The song can boast of complex and original song’s structure, which enhance the immersion greatly.
And we are ready for “CORE” (#4). The song abandons the remaining ‘sweetness’, starting from ambient and quickly slipping into full-bloodied metalcore. Yukari takes up the challenge; her rapping is even more astonishing than her singing :) Yokomin repeats his trick with acoustic guitar sound, but here it has completely different effect. Intense and energetic post-hardcore squall continues in the fifth track, the last one.
The EP shows a clear development of sound, from the beginning to the end. The tracks are set in order with sense and finesse, which is a definite strong point.
I like how percussion is implemented on the CD. Though the settings vary from one song to another, the drums are usually very supportive, solid, and keen. The bass drum has that ‘tasty’ deep tone and has enough weight, which is quite handy in heavier tracks.
The bass guitar is not very selfish, and plays just in overall style mostly. Its work is more prominent in hardcore songs as well.
The sound quality of the release is quite uneven. Yes, we have the ear-candy first track “A place…”, but we also have several dubious songs. The difference in genres presented takes its toll, plus we must take into account the fact this is debut work, yet still… In such a short release the ever changing electric and bass guitars’ sound and level, and drum machine settings look a bit odd… Nothing serious actually, but I hope these matters will receive proper attention in future releases.
And yes – I’m waiting eagerly for future releases :)
Bottom line: lightweight grunge/synthcore blessed with Yuzuki Yukari’s magic.
EP crossfade demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ryuFrlm8QM
Previous VMW entries on album’s songs:
Distance
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