Versailles and LAREINE fans rejoice: KAMIJO is back. The elegant vampire vocalist has debuted as a solo artist with the release of his first single Louis -Enketsu no La Vie En Rose-. This single, while not especially impressive, will please KAMIJO's fans and intrigue potential new fans, and serves as a glimpse into what the singer has in store for us in the future.
 |
| Louis Regular Edition Cover |
Tracklist:
1. Louis〜艶血のラヴィアンローズ (Enketsu No La Vie En Rose)〜
2. Grazioso
3. 幻想トリアノン (Gensou Trianon)
3. 幻想トリアノン (Gensou Trianon)
The the songs on this single often sound more symphony-inspired than rock-inspired. In the title track, the guitars are toned down significantly to allow the well-composed orchestral parts to dominate the song. String instruments, chimes, organ music, piano music, and operatic backing voices can all be heard just as clearly and frequently as any of the traditional rock instruments used in the song. As a result, "Louis" has a much more romantic and classical feel than to it than most of the songs that KAMIJO has been involved in creating. I was surprised at how often the tone of "Louis" changed from upbeat to ominous and back again, but I was more surprised at how the constant change did not seem to take me out of the experience. It's worth noting that KAMIJO's vocal parts seem to be very safely-chosen, as they are not nearly as powerful as in previous songs that he has sung in. Overall, however, it is an interesting and soothing experience that serves as a sampler for the different shades of symphonic rock music that KAMIJO is capable of creating.
"Grazioso" is a short-but-catchy song that is entirely symphonic. Primarily centered around a melody played on what sounds like a church organ, this song inflates itself at one point into a more epic sound before returning back to the quirky-yet-classical sound it uses in the beginning, verses, and end of the song. "Gensou Trianon" is a beautiful and slow song, but it ultimately comes off as a little forgettable for no reason other than the fact that it is following two already-slow songs. The PVs for "Louis" and "Grazioso" are both quite uninteresting unless you like looking at KAMIJO for the entirety of the song (and if you do, then you'll love these videos). I would have liked to have seen something going on in the videos that was a bit deeper than the singer pulling off different poses and flourishes.
My biggest critique of this single is that its songs are not powerful enough to captivate the listener in the same way that KAMIJO has done with his past bands. Don't get me wrong: these single will pull you in, but it will have a much looser grip than most KAMIJO fans are used to.. But now that KAMIJO has signed with a major record label, I think that many of the issues brought up in this review will be solved by the additional support, manpower, and funding that comes with such a deal. Overall , I found this single to be interesting and refreshing, and I look forward to seeing what KAMIJO decides to serenade us with next.
You and I have very different views on this album! Although I may be considered biased, I felt that Louis was a really good representative of Kamijo and his musical career. It seems as if you glossed over some really important aspects of the single in this review.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't say that the title track lacks vocal strength, although he may have sounded different from eras of Versailles such as Noble, where his voice was deeper. Kamijo's voice back then was actually highly unnatural for him. I think that his voice in this single was a lot more natural, and he used various techniques from both Lariene and Versailles. The falsetto at the end was worth mentioning as it was different from any vocal technique he's used before. The symphonic elements of the song and piano interlude was very reminiscent to the style that Versailles had begun with. That along with subtle symbolism and Mana's collaboration on the music video made it very notable as title track, in my opinion. Kamijo portrayed his concept and message very effectively.
Grazioso was musically different from anything Kamijo has done before. The song was very short but the Italian was a nice touch (albeit grammatically incorrect) although I do agree the PV is boring unless you like to look at him. Gensou Trianon, I also thought was very nice, and did not seem all too forgettable to me. Perhaps it was the nostalgia of it all, because this song had a very Lareine kind of feel to it. I think he used a lot of strings in this album to capture the sources of his inspiration, and his roots. Versailles was the only one of Kamijo's project to have strong rock/metal influences anyway.
All in all, I don't believe that the single was less captivating than anything else Kamijo has written. Many of Versailles' most famous songs were composed by him, and I think the fact that this single outdid any of Versailles' past releases on the Oricon charts is saying something ^_^ It was very strong for a debut single!
I am very much looking forward to seeing your next reviews! Keep them coming!