Oshare Kei
favorites SuG are back after ditching former manager, PS Company, with a new look and
sound. Their first single coming out of a year-long hiatus, “MISSING”, is both
a continuation of and departure from the sound we heard them leave PS Company
on – but better in every way.
Tracklist:
1. MISSING
2. Rolling!!
3. 0 song
The first track,
“MISSING”, sticks out the most, which is usually the case for any single.
However, this track is truly stellar – dynamic in sound beyond what SuG had
been producing for several years prior to this, it is a side of them we have
only caught glimpses of during their most brilliant tracks since going major.
The song captures an array of sounds, from the rocking beginning to a slow
break in the middle. This song’s particular diverse soundscape is perhaps
matched only by the equally unrelenting assault on the senses that is the music
video for it.
Track two, “Rolling!!”,
eschews the more dramatic atmosphere of “MISSING”, for a more upbeat, typical
Oshare Kei number. By saying it is typical, I don’t mean to say it doesn’t have
the potential to stay with you, in fact quite the opposite, the song is ripe
for repeated listens, and will likely get stuck in one’s head as much as “MISSING”.
With this track it becomes abundantly clear that SuG has come back with what
appear to be even better songwriting skills, particularly in the area of making
songs catchy. “Rolling!!” is energetic and fun, what one would expect from a
band that released a song called “Crazy Bunny Coaster”.
The third track,
“0 song”, is in many ways a standard SuG ballad, but similar to the other two
tracks on this disc, a marked improvement over previous material. The track
makes use of Takeru’s half-rap skills more so than the other two tracks on the
album, and also showcases more restrained guitar playing that builds an
atmosphere throughout the song. Overall, for a SuG ballad, this has remarkably
more depth that tracks on “Lollipop Kingdom” or “Thrill Ride Pirates”.
While this
single marks a departure from their PS Company days, it is very evident that
this picks up the thread of experimentation from their independent days, boldly
experimenting with an evolving sound. However, unlike some previous times SuG
has experimented or tried to change their sound, this single, especially the
title track, utterly succeeds. I have no doubt in my mind that their next album
will build on this new sound even further, and in that case, we are looking at
the next SuG album being the best one yet.
0 comments:
Post a Comment